Two Heads Are Better Than One
by Phoenix Crystal Star
Summary: What if Harry had a twin sister? A sister who was often angry, cunning, and extremely stubborn. Ten years after the death of their parents, Harry and Rose Potter enter the wizarding world, unaware of the adventures they will face, the enemies they will make, and the over looming darkness that will follow them throughout their lives. Starts in PS and follows Rose's POV
1. Letters and Hand-Me-Downs

Chapter 1: Letters and Hand-Me-Downs

On one breezy November night, a bundle had be left on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive by a rather odd looking group of people. Inside of the bundle happened to be two children. One was Harry Potter, a little boy with a wild tuff of dark hair and a peculiar lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Curled up to his side was his sister, Rose, who had crimson colored curls and was slightly smaller. They laid sound asleep with a letter beside them, not knowing they were special, not knowing that they were famous, not knowing they would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that they would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by their cousin Dudley… They couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Harry and Rose Potter- the Ones Who Lived!

Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew and niece on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. There had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bobble hats – but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another child lived in the house, let alone two.

Yet the two twins were still there, inside of a tiny room on the second floor. This room was once used to keep Dudley's toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. Now, it became their bedroom since the two had grown out of the small cupboard underneath the staircase.

Harry lied asleep in the twin sized bed, taking advantage of the extra room since his sister had already awoken. Harry was small and skinny for his age, and looked even smaller since he was forced to wear the old clothes of his gigantic cousin. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair and bright-green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead which was shaped like a bolt of lightning.

Rose stood on top of the small desk, staring outside of the only window in the room. She was even smaller than her brother and was dressed in her Aunt Petunia's hand-me-downs. Long curly dark red hair came down in waves and ended at her waist. She had a round face, bright green eyes like her brother, and dimples on each cheek. Rose enjoyed staring out of the window, which became her favorite pastime ever since her and Harry had been locked inside of their room because of a certain vanishing glass at the zoo on Dudley's birthday.

"Harry wake up," Rose shook her brother.

"Hmm?" Harry mumbled as he opened his eyes. He reached out for his glasses. "What's wrong, Rosie?" She took him by the hand and pulled him up.

"There some man standing outside of the house," she told him.

"So?" Harry responded. He peeled off his current T-shirt, and put on a cleaner one.

"He looks odd," Rose said as she returned to her place on top of the desk. Harry followed her to see what she was talking about. Outside, a tall man stood with shoulder length black hair. He was dressed in a grey suit with a broad brimmed hat.

"He doesn't look like one of Uncle Vernon's friends," Harry added. Rose nodded her head in agreement. The two watched as the strange man walked towards front door, hesitated, and then rang the doorbell. It took a moment for the Dursleys to answer the door, and another for the man to be let into the house.

"I wonder why he's here," Rose stated. Harry nodded in agreement. Suddenly there was a banging on their door.

"GET UP YOU TWO, THERE SOMEONE HERE TO SEE YOU!" Uncle Vernon yelled through the door. Rose and Harry jumped to their feet. Harry went to quickly lace up a pair of shoes. Rose changed from the oversized t-shirt that she used to sleep in, into one of Aunt Petunia's old dresses. Outside of the room, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard. Uncle Vernon swung the door open. Next to him was the odd man from outside.

"You have ten minutes with these brats before I call the police," Vernon told the man as he left. The man sneered at Vernon, and entered the room. He closed the door behind him. Harry and Rose stood side by side, holding each other hands as they stared at him. His dark shoulder length hair appeared greasy and he had a rather large hooded nose. His feature seemed to be stuck in a scowl. His dark eyes quickly observed the room from the three dead bolts on the door, along with the cat door, the piles off broken toys on the floor, the small bed that the two shared, to the clothes that they were wearing. Harry's shirt went to his knees and he seemed to be holding up his pants with a piece of rope around his waist. Rose's dress was torn at the bottom and kept slipping off of her small shoulders. Two pairs of emerald eyes were focused onto him.

"My name is Severus Snape. I am a professor at a school called Hogwarts," the man paused as if he expected them to react to his words. They didn't. "This school is for students who have certain gifts and talents. And you two have been accepted." Snape was about to continue when he was interrupted.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry said. "I think you have the wrong people, because there's nothing special about us." Snape gave the boy a look, not being pleased about being interrupted.

"Have you two ever done things that you couldn't explain?" Snape asked them. "Strange things happening when you're feeling angry or sad." Rose looked up at the Professor at that point. She thought about how every time Aunt Petunia tried to cut her hair it would grow back the next day twice as long. Harry recalled the time he was running away from Dudley's gang and somehow ended up on the roof. They both nodded their heads at him.

"This is because you two are wizards," Snape said.

"Wizards?!" Harry and Rose exclaimed at the same time. "We can't be!" They continued to speak in unison, a habit that both of them had acquired since they were little.

"Both your parents were wizards as well; you're defiantly not muggles," Snape told them.

"Muggles?" Harry asked.

"Those who can't perform magic, like your aunt and cousin," He replied, and pulled out two envelopes from his suit pocket. He handed one to each of them. Rose looked at the front of hers. It read:

_Rosalyn Lillian Potter, the Small Bedroom, 2__nd__ Floor, 4 Privet Dive, Little Whinging, Surrey _

She turned the envelope over and looked at the wax seal. It seemed to be some sort of symbol with an eagle, badger, lion, and snake. Rose turned to look at Harry who was appeared to a bit bewildered. She turned to look at the man who stood before him. He seemed to be about the same age as Aunt Petunia, maybe younger. Yet his features were prematurely aged by something other than time.

"How do we know you're not tricking us," Rose asked suspiciously. Snape raised an eyebrow at the girl. Harry gave his sister a look before saying:

"Yeah, do some magic," With that Snape pulled out a long slender stick. He pointed it at their small closet. With a flick, the closet went up in flames. Harry and Rose gasped in shock.

"Can you do that to Dudley?" Rose asked as a large smile appeared on her face. Snape smirked at the comment. He flicked his wand again and the closet returned to its previous condition.

"So we're magical and we're going to a magical school?" Harry asked. Snape impatiently nodded his head.

"Where are we going to get these things?" Rose asked. She had open the letter and found the list of supplies.

"From Diagon Alley," He replied. He pulled out a sheet of parchment that contained directions to the wizarding market. He handed it to Harry.

"But, sir, we don't have any money," Harry told the man. Snape pulled out another thing from his suit pocket. A key.

"This will allow you to access your trust fund vault in Gringotts, the wizarding bank," He said and gave the key to Rose. "You will go to Diagon Alley, and then to Gringotts, withdraw money, and purchases your supplies. Along with your supply list are your tickets to Hogwarts Express. It leaves at Kings Cross on September first. Be there before eleven in the morning." With that Snape had said everything he needed to say, and departed the room, without saying goodbye.

Rose jumped to her feet to follow him, but Uncle Vernon was on the underside of the door. He slammed it shut right in her face. Rose heard the dead bolts turning and he locked the door again. She turned to look at her brother. He was rereading letter.

"Harry," Rose said, drawing his attention. Striking green eyes met another pair of striking green eyes. "How are we going to get to London for our supplies?"

"I have no idea Rosie," Harry replied. He looked at the map that Snape had given to him. "Maybe we can get a cab?"

"Yes with the overflowing mountain of money that we keep hidden beneath the floorboards," Rose responded.

"Haha, you're a riot," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. They sat down together on the floor, staring at papers in front of them. Suddenly they looked up at each other.

"Mrs. Figgs!" They exclaimed at the same time.

"If we ask nicely she might be able to take us," Harry stated, as he got up. He pulled out a small book bag that Dudley had thrown away and put their papers and key inside of it. They put on their only pair of trainers before Rose went and pulled out a hair pin. She turned to the door and began to fiddle with the multiple locks on the door. A few minutes past before a multiple clicks could be heard.

"Yeah, we should leave now," Rose said with a smirk, and opened the door. Harry gave her a huge grin before following her out of the room. They gently closed the door and silently made their way downstairs.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were watching television in the living room. Their backs were faced to them. Dudley must be in his room. Trying their hardest to remain quiet and quick as they left through the front door. Once out of the house, the twins made a running dash to Mrs. Figgs house. Mrs. Figgs lived down the street. She was one of the few people that were kind to the two. Aunt Petunia often dumped them there when the Dursleys were going out somewhere.

"Mrs. Figgs! Mrs. Figgs!" The two green eyed children yelled as they banged on the old lady's door. Mrs. Figgs took her sweet time answering the door. Her kind eyes brighten when she saw them.

"Children, a pleasure to see you well, would you like some cake?" She greeted the two.

"No, thank you, Mrs. Figgs," Harry quickly said.

"We wanted to ask if you could take us supply shopping in London," Rose added in equally as quickly. She hoped that if she spoke fast enough Mrs. Figgs wouldn't question her request.

"Oh I would love to," She replied with a kind smile. She was rewarded by two large grins and hugs from each side of her.

"Thank you Mrs. Figgs!" The twins said. After Mrs. Figgs had put on her coat, and hat, and changed her shoes, oh and gotten her purse, and they car keys (she had nearly forgotten those), the trio were off in the car on their way to London!

* * *

**Please Review with your opinions! If I get enough positive comments I'll upload the next chapter right away but if not I'll wait a week. I've already have the first five chapters written. **

**Thanks!**


	2. Wands and Goblins

***Disclaimer* I do not own Harry Potter. There are also small pieces that are directly from the Philosopher's Stone which I do not own. Enjoy! ****J**

Chapter 2: Wands and Goblins

An hour later, they had arrived at London. Mrs. Figgs looked at her rear view mirror to look at the kids. They had fallen asleep. Harry had his head leaning against the window with Rose lying on his lap. They looked precious, well; at least Mrs. Figgs thought so. She decided to do them a favor and drove to the Leaky Cauldron. She sighed as she saw the familiar pub. She remembered coming here as a young child, watching her older sister get her wand. Oh, how she longed to follow her path, yet fate had another plan for her.

"Children, we're here," She said, waking them up. They woke up slowly before peering outside of the car window. The faintest of gasps could be heard as the realized where they were.

"I'll be back by seven, alright dears," Mrs. Figgs told them. That would give those five hours to shop.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Figgs," Harry said again.

"It's my pleasure," She replied. With that, she left the two in front of the wizard pub.

"How did she know to leave us here?" Rose asked her brother.

"I don't know, probably a lucky coincidence," Harry answered. Rose narrowed her eyes in disbelief. She didn't believe in coincidences, but she'd brush it off for now. The two entered the pub. All at once, everyone was looking at them. Whispering began to occur throughout the tavern. Rose suddenly felt insecure. She looked down at her clothing. She was still wearing the horrid yellow dress that Aunt Petunia once owned along with an oversized hoodie that originally bought for Dudley. Harry was also still dressed in Dudley's oversized clothing. He looked like he was drowning in fabric. Frowning, she pulled the hoodie tightly around her body. How dare they judge her and her brother?

With her head held high and her hand holding her brother's, she led them to the pub's innkeeper Tom. In Professor Snape's directions, he had said to ask Tom to allow them into Diagon Alley.

"Shopping for Hogwarts, eh?" Tom asked when he noticed them.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. He gave the innkeeper a sheepish smile. Rose simply stared up at him, her expression blank. Tom gave them another look and then gasped.

"Bless my soul! It's Harry and Rose Potter: the Ones-Who-Lived!" Tom exclaimed when he realized who they were. Suddenly the entire pub seemed to have surrounded them. Harry instinctively hid Rose behind him. There were shouting of "Mr. Potter!" and "Ms. Potter!" and "The Ones-Who-Lived!" People tried to touch or grab at them. Fortunately, Tom came in between them.

"Back off, you lot, the poor tots just need to get their Hogwarts things," He barked at them. Slowly and reluctantly everyone returned to their seats. Then, Tom led them to the back of the tavern where they met a brick wall. The twins watched in wonder as he pulled out a slender stick, similar to the one Professor Snape had, and tapped the bricks on the wall. Suddenly the bricks parted, revealing a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Tom said as he ushered the two through the brick arch way. As he did the arch way closed behind them.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, and Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible said a sign hanging over them. '_We need to get some of those,' _Rose thought, remembering their supply list. She watched as Harry turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary's was shaking her head as they passed, saying,

''Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad ...''A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying _Eeylops Owl Emporium_ – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.

"Look," they heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand – fastest ever –." There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments. Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon.

"Harry, Gringotts!" Rose pulled her brother out of his thoughts with her voice. They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over the other little shops.

"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing to a creature wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold. They walked up the white stone steps towards him. The creature was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_'Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn, So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there.'_

"Bit threatening, isn't it?" Rose stated as they entered. A pair of those short creatures bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more of them were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Rose and Harry made for the counter.

"Excuse me, sir," Rose said. "We're here to get money." The creature peered over at them.

"Do you have a key to the vault?" It asked. Harry pulled out the iron key from his pack and handed it to the banker.

"Sir, what are you?" Harry asked bluntly. Rose gave him a nudge in the side for that. The creature gave them a toothy smile.

"I am a goblin, Mr. Potter," the goblin said. "We run the wizarding bank." After examining the key, he said: "This seems to be in order. I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" A different goblin appeared who took the key from the one behind the desk.

"Follow me," Griphook said. Harry and Rose went along silently. Griphook held the door open for them. The twins, who had expected more marble, were surprised. They were in a narrow stone passage- way lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. Rose's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, Harry thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late – they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never know," Harry called to Rose over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmites rise from the floor while stalactites rise from the ceiling," Rose called out. Harry smiled at her. She was the only one out of the two of them who actually paid attend in their schooling. Finally the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall. The twins stumbled out; their legs had fallen asleep during the ride.

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry and Rose gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze coins. All theirs – it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much the twins had cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to them, buried deep under London. Rose helped Harry pile some of it into their book bag.

"The gold ones are Galleons," Griphook explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. Simple." Rose rolled her eyes. That wasn't very simply at all and she could already see Harry looking very confused. Once they were done, they followed Griphook out of the vault and to the cart. The ride back was pretty much the same, and they made their way out of the back. The twin sat outside on the marble steps.

"According to this we need to get our robes and books along with other miscellaneous," Rose said as she referred to their supply list.

"I think I say a robes shop earlier, over there," Harry told her as he pointed in its direction. Rose gave him a huge smile.

"Brilliant!" Rose stated. "From there someone must know where the book shop is." The two stood up and made their way to _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions._ Inside of the shop, a plump lady created them.

"Another two for Hogwarts?" She asked. They both nodded their head.

"Could we also get extra sets of robes for casual occasions," Rose added in quickly.

"Of course dear," The lady replied. A notepad and pencil levitated and began to right things done. "Any colors in particular?"

"Anything that suits us," Rose told her. She ushered the two onto podiums as measuring tapes began to wrap around them measuring every part of them. Another boy was there. He was about the same age as them with platinum blond hair, steel grey eyes, and fair skin.

"Hullo," the boy said. "Hogwarts too?" His blue eyes went to stare at Rose, whose blood red locks curled wonderfully around her face. She must have been the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Even prettier than his mum. Unfortunately, Harry was the one to answer him.

"Yes," Harry said.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." The boy reminded Harry of Dudley.

"That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do to one's father," Rose piped in. The boy blushed with embarrassment.

"So what houses do you think you'll be in? I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" The boy asked, wanting to change the subject. He received two confused faces as a responds. "You must know of the houses. You aren't _muggleborn_s are you?" He said that word with disgust in his voice.

"No we're not," Harry replied sternly, not pleased with the tone of voice the boy had chosen.

"Both our parents were wizards, but they died when we were young. So we grew up with muggles," Rose quickly said. The blond boy nodded his head in understanding with sympathy in his face.

"Must have been of awful," He commented. The twins nodded their heads in agreement. It was.

"All done, dear," The owner of the shop said to the blond boy as she handed him a bundle. Immediately there was a tapping on the shop's wind. A fair lady with straight long blond her stood there, waving at her son.

"That's my mum," the boy said as he was about to leave. "Name's Malfoy, by the way. Draco Malfoy. See you at Hogwarts." With that he had left to join his mother. Rose stared after them longingly. She wondered what it would be like to have her own mother.

"You two are also done," The lady said as she handed each other them large bundles. She watched as the two tiny eleven year olds struggled with their package before giving them a small paper bag. "It has an undetectable extension charm so you can put as much as you want in it without having to lift a pound." As she explained she helped them put their bundles into the bag.

"Thank you," Harry said as he accepted the paper bag.

"Ma'am, do you happen to know where we could get our books?" Rose said. The lady happily pointed to the store across from them, called _Flourish and Blotts._ After they thanked the lady one more time, they left to the book shop.

The store clerk was kind enough to retrieve all of their required books, and they quickly purchased them. Rose kept them behind as she bought more books. They mostly dealt with the history of the wizarding world and customs like _Hogwarts, A History, Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. _

"What?" Rose said as she noticed the look her brother was giving her. "We're new to this world; we should at least learn something from it before we're expected to become a part of it."

"Whatever," Harry replied as she purchased her books. After the book shop, they went on and got the rest of their supplies. The only thing left was a pet and wand for each of them. Harry had gone off to _Eeylops Owl Emporium_, saying that he saw one through the display window that he wanted. Rose, who had no intention of getting an owl, went off to Magical Menageries.

She entered the shop, staring with wonder at all of the animals. She went instantly to the feline section. There were multiple ones but most of them seemed old. Rose wanted a kitten. And then she found one. It was a tiny cat, with dark black hair and large startling lime green eyes. Rose smiled at the cat. It reminded her of her brother.

After purchasing the cat along with all of its necessities, Rose met her brother outside. Harry stood there waiting for her with a large golden cage that contained a lovely snowy white owl.

"What her name?" Rose asked him.

"I don't know yet," Harry replied. "How about his?" He pointed to her kitten that was already fast asleep in its carrier. Rose shrugged with her shoulders. Holding each other's hands while their other hands held their pet's carriers (their paper bag was inside of the book bag), the two siblings walked down the street towards a shop called _Ollivander's Wand Shop. _

"This is it isn't," Harry said. Rose smiled at him and gave him a squeeze of the hand. Together they entered.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry and Rose jumped, dropping their pet carrier. Both the cat and owl hissed at their new owners. An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Rose and Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You both have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. You resemble her very much, Ms. Potter." Rose smiled at that. It was one of the first and few things she had ever heard about her mother. Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. "Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

"And that's where ..." Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands ... Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do ..."

"What do you mean the wand that did that?" Rose asked as she narrowed her eyes at the old man. He gave her an unsettling smile.

"The wand that belonged to the wizard who killed your parents ten years old," Mr. Ollivander replied bluntly.

"What?" Both Harry and Rose said at the same time. "But they died in a car crash!" At that Mr. Ollivander, frowned. He suddenly became very sober.

"Your parents were killed by a dark wizard, known as You-Know-Who, one that had been corrupted by power. He sought to kill them because they fought against them. After he had killed them, he went to go kill you Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander explained, his eyes centered on Harry. "But when he casted the killing curse on you, it seemed to have bounced off, killing him in the process, and leaving you with that scar." The twins stayed silent. Their green eyes were wide with shock.

"Well, now – Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er – well, I'm right-handed,' said Harry.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said,

"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave." Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. At this point, they spent the next half hour with Mr. Ollivander trying to find the wand for Harry. Rose who had grown tired, went and sat down on a small chair that sat at the corner of the room.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere – I wonder, now – yes, why not – unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Mr. Ollivander handed Harry this wand. Rose watched as he waves it and gold and red sparks came out like fireworks. Rose gave a brilliant smile at it. Looks like her brother had found his wand.

"Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well ... how curious ... how very curious ..." He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious ... curious ..."

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?" Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother – why, its brother gave you that scar.'' Harry swallowed.

''Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember ... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter ... After all, You-Know-Who did great things – terrible, yes, but great.''

Rose rolled her eyes. She was growing weary of this talk, and was not pleased with how uncomfortable it was making her brother.

"Mr. Ollivander, is it my turn yet?" Rose asked politely, hoping to stop him from making another speech. The wand maker smile, nodding his hand. Rose stood up as the tape measure began to circulate around her. Harry quickly to her seat, with his wand box on his lap.

"Which is your wand hand?" He asked her.

"Same as my brother's," She responded. Mr. Ollivander came back with a wand case.

"Ten inches, unicorn hair, oak, nice and springy," He said as he hand her the wand. She flicked the wand and suddenly a plant pot shattered, scattering soil across the floor.

"Sorry!" Rose squeaked as she saw the mess she had made. Mr. Ollivander quickly took the wand away from her.

"No worries, Ms. Potter, you're like your brother: a tricky customer," He said before he went off to get more wands. It was Harry's turn now to watch for half an hour as his sister went through dozens of wands. Finally, Ollivander came back with a pristine black box.

"Twelve inches, dragon heart string, ebony wood, reasonable supple," He said as he opened the case and pulled out an inky black wand. Rose accepted it gratefully and waved it. Brilliant silver sparks erupted from the tip of the wand like glitter falling through the sky. Rose turned to her brother as their exchanged large grins.

"Interesting, Ms. Potter," Ollivander mumbled as he returned the wand back into its case and wrapped it in brown paper. "This wand is especially talented at curses and hexes of all sorts." He handed the box to her. "Be very careful with it."

Rose was more than happy to leave the wand shop with her brother. She had heard enough of the old man's rattling. They two found themselves getting ice cream at _Florean and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor_. Harry got chocolate raspberry with chopped nuts while Rose got chocolate peanut butter with chopped strawberries.

"You think there something we can do about your eye sight?" Rose asked as she picked the strawberries off and ate them separately.

"What do you mean?" Harry responded as he licked his ice cream.

"Well in this entire world of magic there must be something to do about those horrid glasses of yours," She referred to the ones that were barely held together by tape. Harry shrugged in response, but ten minutes later he found himself inside Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions. Rose was talking with the shop owner about getting a potion for his eyes.

Rose came back with multiple potion bottles in her hands. She handed one of them to Harry.

"What are all the rest for?" Harry asked.

"Something to make me more beautiful," Rose replied.

"But you're already beautiful," Harry replied as if it was obvious. This seemed to be the right thing to say because Rose gave him a huge smile and a kiss on the cheek. Yet she still bought the potions.

To please Harry, Rose let them go to the quidditch shop he they had seen earlier. Harry seemed amazed by this wizarding sport after he had the store clerk explain it to them. Rose, who was listening to them, was interested as well, but wouldn't admit it to her brother. They purchased multiple books about the sport, and got a couple of practice snitches that would return to them when called.

"This is so cool!" Harry commented as he threw the snitch up in the air. He gave the golden ball a second to expose its glittering wings before quickly grabbing it. Rose smiled at him; it was nice seeing her brother happy. She had given him his potion before they entered the quidditch shop which fixed his vision. The broken old pair of rounded eye glasses had found its new home inside of a garbage bin.

"What time is it?" Rose asked. Harry pointed to a large clock that was hung over a store.

"Quarter to six," Harry answered. They then decided to go get dinner. They went to a pizzeria and ate so much pizza. They left the restaurant feeling comfortably full, sometime that had never happened with the Dursleys.

"Harry," Rose said, an idea bubbling to her head.

"Yes," He replied. Harry looked at his sister. Her eyes seemed to be flashing with some sort of an idea.

"Why don't we just stay in London?" Rose asked.

"What? What do you mean?" Harry wondered, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Well, we're gonna need to get back to London to go to Kings Cross," Rose explained. "And I don't think Uncle Vernon would be up to take us there early in the morning, and we have a lot of money, more than we've ever had in our lives! We could stay in the inn inside of the Leaky Cauldron, and buy what we need from Diagon Alley. And I bet you don't have anything worth missing back in Privet Drive, because I don't."

"I love it!" Harry replied with a huge smile. He wanted any excuse not to return to the Dursley. "We should just call Mrs. Figgs and tell her so she doesn't have to drive all the way back here." Rose nodded in understanding, but the grin that had adorned her face refused to wipe off.

They went back inside of the Leaky Cauldron, and we lucky enough to find a phonebooth that accepted Knuts. After a quick call to Mrs. Figgs and the Dursley (who were more than happy to have them gone until next summer), the two went to Tom, who was more than happy to provide them rooms. Rose and Harry quickly ran up the stairs to the inn part of the pub. They opened their room door with the key that Tom had given them. The room had a very medieval style with two large four poster beds.

"Our lives are gonna be different now," Harry stated as he sat down on one of the beds.

"Forever," Rose added as she sat down next to him.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll be posting the next one in either one or two days! Please leave a review! (It makes me upload even quicker!)**


	3. Brooms and Trains

Chapter 3: Brooms and Trains

The next few weeks, the two Potters enjoyed their new lives in the wizarding world. Every day they would go have breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron before going out to Diagon Alley for a bit, getting lunch, and returning to their room. They would play with their pets for a bit. Harry had decided to name his owl Hedwig, after some name he saw while flipping through a book. Rose decided on naming her little black kitten Gwaine, after a knight she had read about while reading the tales of Merlin.

A few hours later they would go back to Diagon Alley, get dinner, some ice cream, and then return to their room again. During the few weeks, Rose had made sure to read all of her school books, including the extra ones she had bought, twice. Harry, found it pointless since they were going to read their textbooks during the school year, refused to read any of the them. So Rose made it her mission to summaries all of the history books and wizard customs books to her brother so that he wouldn't be clueless come September 1st.

The most interesting book that Rose had read was _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _which had a huge chucked dedicated to You-Know-Who, the man who killed their parents. Through the book they learned all that they could about that night. Rose reread it to Harry, telling him about the Dark Lord's followers, the Death Eaters, and their purpose along with You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name's real name. Lord Voldemort. After that day, the two siblings decided to not talk about him any further.

"Harry! Harry! Harry!" A few mornings later, Harry found himself being woken by his redheaded sister jumping up and down on top of his bed.

"I'm up, I'm up," Harry growled. He reached out for his glasses only to remember he didn't need them. Old habits die hard.

"Happy Birthday!" Rose yelled. Out of nowhere, she threw confetti in the air. Harry smiled up at her.

"Thanks Rosie. Happy Birthday to you too!" Harry replied as he hugged his sister. They both pulled out colorful bundles for each other. Rose handed Harry a blue package that had golden stars all over it while Harry handed her a white one with daises on it. This would be their first birthday where they could actual buy their own gifts for each other.

"You go first," Rose said. Harry smiled at the package it was the size of a bread box. He ripped open the package and was amazed to see the hilt of a broomstick. He looked at his sister with shock.

"The store clerk put an extension charm on it," Rose said, smiling. Harry continued to pull out the broom from the bundle. It was the newest broomstick, the Nimbus 2000.

"Oh my god!" Harry exclaimed as he grasped the broomstick with happiness. "But the rules!"

"Who cares?" Rose responded. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out a broomstick that was identical to Harry's. "I got one for myself as well. Later today we can go try them out."

"Where?" Harry asked. He hoped she didn't expect them to ride brooms for the first time outside in Diagon Alley.

"Out in a field somewhere, we'll find something," Rose said with a shrug. She returned to her place beside Harry on the bed.

"Okay, open your gift!" Harry said as he shoved the bundle into her hands. Rose quickly ripped the decorative gift paper to reveal an ornament wooden jewelry box. Inside it was lined with silver silk. Sitting in the center was a golden chair that had an emerald pendant, hanging from it. Rose gasped when she saw it. She gently lifted it up with her fingers.

"Harry, its beautiful," She whispered, tears began to weld up in her eyes. She threw her arms around him.

"Glad you like it," Harry said, smiling.

"Like it, I love it!" Rose said. "Can you put it on for me?" Harry nodded his head. Rose gave him the necklace and turned around. Harry lifted up her crimson hair and wrapped the necklace around her neck. She turned around to look at him, slightly touching the emerald pendant that hung above her chest.

"It's enchanted," Harry explained. "If you're ever in trouble, squeeze the pendant, and I'll know." He showed her his wrist which was adorned with a golden band that had an emerald that matched the one in Rose's necklace.

"Thank you," Rose told him. That day, they had the best birthday they had ever had in their entire life. They went to _Florean and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, _and Mr. Florean was kind enough to make them an ice cream cake for their birthday. It was a small one, enough for just the two of them. Half of it was chocolate raspberry (Harry's favorite) and the other half was chocolate peanut butter (Rose's favorite) with chopped nuts and strawberries on top. Afterwards they went to the quidditch shop where the store clerk they had befriended told them about a field he used to practice in as a child. He was even nice enough to give then a Portkey.

So that day, Rose and Harry taught themselves how to use their new broomsticks and were flying around giving out shrieks of joy. After they became accustomed to flying, they pulled out practice snitches and quaffles. They took turns practicing chaser and seeker positions. Harry mostly focused on catching the snitch while Rose was working on throwing the quaffles through a makeshift goal she created in some trees. When it began to get dark, the two used the Portkey to return to Diagon Alley.

Once back in their rooms in the Leaky Cauldron, the two snuggled in one of the four poster beds. Gwaine laid curled into a little ball, fast asleep at their feet. Rose was reading out loud fairy tales from _The Tales of Beedle the Bard. _

"Rose," Harry asked, drawing her attention.

"Yes." Rose turned to face him.

"Today was the best day ever," Harry told her.

"Defiantly," Rose replied. "But don't worry; we'll have many days like it." With that the two fell asleep, dreaming of flying on broomsticks and eating ice cream.

A month later, Harry and Rose woke up early and prepared their trucks. It wasn't that hard since all they had gotten undetectable extension charms (this charm had become their best friend) on their trucks. After saying goodbye to Tom, the two took a cab to Kings Cross. At the train station, they had gotten a trolley and stacked their trucks and pet carriers onto it. Harry was pushing in through the station since he refused to allow Rose to push it (she kept her hands on the trolley out of stubbornness).

"Where is platform 9 ¾?" Rose wondered as she had her tickets in hand. They both scanned the station for their desired platform but were unable to do so. Giving up, they stopped to rest between platforms nine and ten. At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"– packed with Muggles, of course –'' Harry and Rose swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like their own – and they had an owl. Rose who noticed her brother was about to run towards the group of gingers. She quickly held him back, mouthing the word 'Watch' to him. They stopped and watched the group that stood a few yards away from them.

"Now, what's the platform number?'' said the boys' mother.

''Nine and three-quarters!'' piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. ''Mum, can't I go ...''

''You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first.'' What looked like the oldest boy marched towards platforms nine and ten. The twins watched, careful not to blink in case they missed it – but just as the boy reached the divide between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him, and by the time the last rucksack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

''Fred, you next,'' the plump woman said.

''I'm not Fred, I'm George,'' said the boy. ''Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?''

"Sorry, George, dear.''

''Only joking, I am Fred,'' said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done, because a second later, he had gone – but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly towards the ticket barrier – he was almost there – and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.

Harry and Rose continued to watch as the plump woman ushered her youngest son to go. They watch as he made a running start and ran _through_ the barrier. Then the women and her daughter walked through together.

"I guess that's how we get to platform 9 ¾," Harry said. Together they held onto their trolley and made a running start through the barrier. Rose, who was a bit doubtful, hoped that they didn't get too hurt when they collided with the stone barrier. She closed her eyes and waited for impact, but it never came. When she opened her eyes, they were at Platform 9 ¾.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the ticket box had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three- Quarters on it. They had done it. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. They pushed their trolley off down the platform in search of an empty seat.

"Found one!" Rose said as she pointed at an empty compartment. Harry went first, taking Hedwig and Gwaine's carriers inside. While he was there, Rose attempted to carry one of their trucks into the train. She nearly dropped it if it wasn't for another pair of hands that helped her.

"Careful there," One of the redhead twins that she had saw earlier said. He began to lift one of the trucks.

"Wouldn't want you to get hurt," the other twin appeared, lifting the other truck. Rose pouted. She could have been to do that too if she had the time.

"Thank you," Rose said as she followed after the ginger twins into the train. They entered their empty compartment. Rose looked around. Gwaine and Hedwig were there with their cages but Harry was not.

"No problem," the twins said at the same time as they set down the trucks. They turned to face Rose.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rose," Rose greeted them as she shook their hands. They smiled at her.

"It's our pleasure," Fred said.

"We must get going," George said, as they exited the compartment.

"See you at Hogwarts, cutie!" The twins said at the same time with a wave. Then Harry entered the compartment.

"There you are! I was looking for you," Harry said.

"Sorry," Rose replied as she sat down.

"Why are you blushing?" Harry asked her. He sat next to her.

"No reason," She responded quickly. Harry shrugged it off. They looked out of the window to see that the ginger family had gathered to say goodbye to each other.

"I bet no one would notice if they took you home one day," Harry joked. Rose rolled her eyes.

Then the train was off, leaving the station. Rose opened Gwaine's carrier. The little cat jumped out of the cage with so much energy and went to Rose's lap. The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red- headed boy came in.

''Anyone sitting there?'' he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry and Rose. ''Everywhere else is full.'' Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked.

''Hey Ron.'' The twins were back. ''Listen, we're going down the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there.''

''Right,'' mumbled Ron.

"Hey Rose," Fred greeted her. Harry didn't notice that Fred had also winked at Rose who blushed in return.

"Did we introduce ourselves?" George said. "Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Sorry about them," Ron said.

"No problem, I'm Harry by the way," Harry said.

"As in Harry Potter?" Ron gasped. He looked at Rose. "And Rose Potter?" They nodded their heads.

"Do you have the- you know-?" Ron asked with wide eyes. Rose rolled her eyes at the ginger boy, but Harry politely lifted up his bangs, revealing his lightning shaped scar.

''So that's where You-Know-Who –?''

''Yes,'' said Harry quickly. ''But I can't remember it.''

''Nothing?'' said Ron eagerly.

''Well, I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.''

''Wow,'' said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry and Rose for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. Thankfully, the compartment door slid open again, interrupting the awkward silence.

"Excuse me," A boy with brown hair and a round face said. "I've lost my toad Trevor. Have you seen him?" Both Harry and Ron shook their heads no.

"You should go to the Prefects at the front of the train," said Rose. "They can perform a charm and find your toad." The round faced boy thanked her profusely before quickly leaving the compartment.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked with a gaping mouth.

"It's all in _Hogwarts, A History _," Rose told him. With a shrug, Ron reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gray fat rat.

''His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff– I mean, I got Scabbers instead," Ron said quickly. Suddenly, Gwaine jumped from Rose's lap and went to attack Scabbers. Ron let out a scream, but Rose was quick enough to catch her cat.

"Keep you stupid cat away from Scabbers," Ron said as he held onto his rat tightly.

"Gwaine is not stupid!" Rose replied defensively. "It's obvious that there is something wrong with your ugly rat!" Rose glared at Ron which he returned. Harry was grateful that the compartment door slid open again before the two hot tempered redheads could tear each other apart.

"Anything from the trolley, dearies," An old woman asked. The twins, who had skipped breakfast, looked at the trolley longingly. Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a large sack of galleons.

"Everything!" Harry exclaimed. Rose giggled at her brother's antic. Before she knew it the entire compartment were filled with all kinds of wizarding treats. Ron looked at all of the treats that the Potter twins had acquired.

"You can have some if you want," Harry told him as he took a bite of a pumpkin pastry.

"Really?" Ron's eyes lit up.

"If you put away your rat," Rose said with a smirk. Ron quickly shoved Scabbers back into his coat pocket and picked up a licorice wand. They continued to eat their treats; Rose focused mostly on the chocolate.

They were half way to their destination when a voice in the intercom instructed them to put on their robes. Rose went to the bathroom to change while the boys did so in the compartment. When she returned she found someone else in the compartment. It was a girl her age, sitting beside Ron, with bushy brown hair and teeth that were a bit too big for her mouth. Ron had his rat out again along with his wand.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.

''Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. ''Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She directed that question to Rose who had just walked in.

"Rose Potter," She smiled at the girl and shook her hand, and sat down across from her.

"I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century," Hermione said that rather quickly.

"I'm quick aware," Rose responded, smiling. "I've read those books as well." Hermione's eyes lit up as she finally found someone who had read as much as she had. They launched into a discussion about their school books. Ron, who seemed a bit put off by Hermione, was more than happy to talk about quidditch with Harry.

Suddenly their compartment door opened again for about the millionth time during their ride. The blond boy from the robe shop, Draco Malfoy, entered with two large boys on either side of them.

"Is it true?" He asked. "I heard that Harry and Rose Potter are in here?" His eyes went wide when he recognized Rose and Harry. "Wait, you're the two from the robe shop."

"Yes, we didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves back then," Rose explained. She smiled up at him. "Please join us." This caused Draco to blush once again. He told the two other boys, Crabbe and Goyle, to return to their compartment and accepted a seat next to Rose.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione was quick to introduce herself and reach out to shake his hand. Draco gave a disgust look, not wanting to touch her. Rose noticed, and gave his a hard nudge in his side. Draco gave Rose a look which she returned with a raised eyebrow. Reluctantly, he shook Hermione's hand.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," He said. Ron gave a slight cough which sounded like he was hiding a snigger. Draco shot him a look.

"Think my name's funny don't you, Weasely?" He said bitterly, his featuring twisting into a sneer.

"Be nice, both of you," Rose commanded with authority in her voice. She shot both pureblooded boys a look. Both looked away from each other in embarrassment. Harry had a look of amusement on his face. He knew how his sister could be like sometimes.

The rest of the train ride went fairly smoothly. Ron and Harry continued to talk quidditch and they actually let Draco, who was also very interested in the sport, join in on the conversation. Hermione and Rose enjoyed talking to each other.

"Rose, how do you get your hair like that?" Hermione asked in a hushed tone. Rose looked at her hair. It came down in thick yet manageable crimson curls. With a smile, Rose stood up onto of the booth chair, stepped over Harry and Draco, and got something from her truck. Once she returned to her seat, she handed Hermione a long potion bottle labeled _Sleekeasy's Hair Potion. _

"Just put a spoon full of that in your shampoo and it makes your hair less frizzy and gives it a nice curl," Rose confessed. Hermione's eyes went wide with wonder as she accepted the potion bottle.

"Thank you!" Hermione said.

"No biggie," said Rose. "Trust me, if you see any girl looking good all the time she's either very high maintenance or she's actually imaginary. If you run out just come to me. I have loads of that stuff."

As they train got closer to Hogwarts, Hermione and Draco returned to their original compartments. Rose sat with Gwaine sound asleep in her arms while Harry fed Hedwig some treats. Ron was fast asleep with his head resting against the window.

A voice echoed through the train:

_'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately.' _

Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. Rose chewed on her bottom lip. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Rose shivered in the cold night air which caused Harry to bring her closer to him. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Rose heard a voice:

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" A large man was calling out. He must have been at least nine feet tall and twice as wide as a normal mind. They trio followed him and we're led down into small boats. Harry, Rose, Ron, and a boy who introduced himself as Seamus Figgian.

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. The little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of under- ground harbor, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.

They reached the castle steps, and the giant man went and knocked on the door three times. It swung open.

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	4. Hats and Snakes

Chapter 4: Hats and Snakes

A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face.

''The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall,'' said the giant man.

''Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.'' She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fitted the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble stair- case facing them led to the upper floors. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. They could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

''Welcome to Hogwarts,'' said Professor McGonagall. ''The start- of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Rose looked around. Everyone looked nervous expect for her and Harry. She already knew that the sorting involved putting on a hat, and had told her brother earlier. It was funny though to hear Ron go on about how his brothers told them that they would have to fight a troll.

Finally Professor McGonagall returned allowing the first years to enter the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up there, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

"Maybe she'll pull a rabbit out of it," Harry mumbled to Rose. She stifled a giggle. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

'_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me._

_ You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be._

_ You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_ Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;_

_ You might belong in Hufflepuff Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_If you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends._

_ So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_ And don't get in a flap!_

_ You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. Harry felt something squeeze his hand. He looked do to see Rose tightly griping his hand. She looked nervous.

"What if we're not put in the same house?" She whispered to him.

"Don't worry," Harry whispered. "Even if we do we can still stay together." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and be sorted," McGonagall announced. She unrolled a long scroll and began. "ABBOTT, HANNAH."

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. From then, students continued to be sorted. Hermione became a Gryffindor and went to the red and golden table with a huge grin. The round faced boy, Neville Longbottom, got put in Gryffindor as well. Draco went to Slytherin with a smirk on his face.

"POTTER, HARRY." Whispers erupted as people turned to their name unaware that the Boy-Who-Lived was there. Harry looked at Rose. She smiled at him, and give his hand one more squeeze before he went up to the stool. Rose stared up at her brother as the sorting hat was placed on his head. What felt like an eternity later the sorting hat opened its mouth and yelled.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted in wild cheers, the loudest yet. The Weasley twins even started cheering "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!" Harry was quickly ushered to his new house table. He sat between Hermione and Neville with a large smile on his face as everyone began to pat him on the back. However Rose didn't have too long to dwell on the thought.

"POTTER, ROSE." It was her turn now. She made her way to the stool, trying hard not to trip or look like a fool. She felt everyone's stare on her as the sorting hat was placed on her.

'_Well what do we have here,' _The hat whispered in her head. '_You're fairly intelligent young girl yet that doesn't seem to be your main focus. So Ravenclaw is out of the question.' _Rose frowned. What makes this hat think it know her?

_'Because I can see into your head Rose Potter. And I can see that you're fiercely loyal to your brother. You're even willingly to harm those you hurt them. Not Hufflepuff.' _Rose couldn't help but snigger at that. She recalled when she was six and Dudley had first started beating up Harry. She had turned on the oven and told him that he's newest toy was in there. Dudley got a nasty second degree burn up his arm and Rose got a month locked in the cupboard with no food and a strange sense of satisfaction.

'_I see much bravery inside of you,' _The hat continued. '_You would charge into an army if it meant protecting those you love, and I suppose one day you will.' _Rose made a confused face, but quickly wiped it. She noticed that people were starting to whisper about all the expressions she was making.

'_Yet beyond that, I see an ambition stronger than anything else. You're resourceful and quick. You long to be able to show your worth to others. Yes, Slytherin would suit you very well, Ms. Potter. You'll find great friends there.' _With that Sorting Hat opened its mouth and yelled.

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was a silence that filled the Great Hall. Rose Potter was a _Slytherin? _The daughter of James and Lily Potter, basically Gryffindor royalty, was a snake! However the silence was quickly interrupted by the cheering of the Slytherin. They clapped and hooted which gave Rose a big smile as she went to her new house table. Ironically some of the upperclassmen were shouting "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!" at the Gryffindor table.

"Welcome," Draco greeted her as she sat down next to him. Together they watched the rest of the sorting. It ended with Blaise Zabini joining them in the Slytherin table. He came to the table, high fived Draco, and sat on the other side of Rose.

Albus Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" he said. ''Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

"Nutcase," Draco mumbled with a roll of his eyes. Rose sniggered at his comment. She began to fill her plate with food. Mashed potatoes, Shepard's pie, roasted chicken, steamed peas.

"Rose, I think some introductions are in order," A honey blonde girl with brown eyes said drawing Rose's attention away from her food. "We already know each other since we all grew up together, but you don't know us. I'm Daphne Greengrass."

"Pansy Parkinson," The girl sitting next to her said arrogantly.

"Theodore Nott," The boy who sat across from her on Daphne's other said. "But you can call me Theo." Two other introduced themselves as Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis. Crabbe and Goyle, the two goonish boys that followed Draco introduced themselves as well. She already knew who Blaise was.

"Should I introduce myself again," Draco asked her sarcastically with a smirk.

"I'm starting to think you just want to hear you own name again," Rose replied. This caused some laughter to erupt from their group.

On a different table, Harry watched the Slytherin table. His eyes were centered on his sister. Harry was relieved to see that she was smiling and interacting with others. He was worried before because Rose didn't like most people.

"Potatoes, Harry?" Percy, Ron's older brother offered. Harry accepted and slid a few fried pieces of potato onto his plate. After a moment, Harry looked up at the teacher's table. He saw Professor Snape, the man who had brought them their acceptance letter, was talking to a teacher wearing a large turban. However Snape was not looking at that teacher. Harry followed the dark haired teacher's line of vision, and was met with the sight of his sister again. Why was Snape staring at his sister?

Harry looked back at the teacher's table again, but this time his glaze met with the turban wearing teacher's. He winced when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his scar. He lifted his hand to his forehead.

"Percy, who's the teacher next to Professor Snape?" Harry asked the prefect.

"That's Professor Quirrell, the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher," he replied. Harry nodded his head. He would have to remember to tell Rose about this.

On a completely different table, Professor Snape sat staring at a certain redheaded girl. The annoyance that was Quirrell was stuttering in his ear, but he was easily ignored. Snape looked at the eleven year old girl whose scarlet curls cascaded lightly down her back with striking green eyes. She looked so much like Lily. Snape wondered about would have happen if Lily had ended up in Slytherin with him twenty years ago. He quickly pushed that thought out of his head. Severus had no time for what ifs. What he knew now is that he would have to protect that small girl for Lily.

Snape turned to look at the Gryffindor table. He sneered as he caught sight of Harry. He looked like a carbon copy of his blasted father. His only saving grace was that he had the same eyes as his sister and mother.

"And this is the Slytherin entrance," A prefect said to the group of first years. He had led them to a slab of damp stone wall. "The password is _stagnum_. Don't forget it because no one will remind you." As soon as he said the password, the stone wall slid away revealing a rectangular door. He opened it and ushered the group of first years in. The Slytherin Common Room was , in Rose's opinion, a regal image. There were multiple clusters couches and armchairs lined in emerald silk and dark wood. The floor was covered in a dark brown carpet that matched the walls which were covered in silver tapestries. In the back of the room was a large fire place where large flames danced beneath a moving painting of Salazar Slytherin. The common room was beneath the lake therefore all the light had a green tint to it. On the left side of the room was a staircase that led to a balcony that had seven doors. The other side of the room was identical to it. The common room was empty so they assumed everyone else were in their rooms.

"Girls dormitories are on the right, boys on the left," the prefect told them. "Rules and other information are on the board over there. Make sure to memorized those." Once he was done speaking, the common room door swung opened. All the first years turn to see Professor Snape enter. He came in with his black robes billowing behind him. The first years quickly parted, giving him a pathway to walk through. He dismissed the prefect, who returned to his dormitory, and turned to face the anxious faces of the newest students.

"You have been all sorted into the House of Slytherin, the house of the clever, resourceful, and determined. Yet regardless of this you all must learn one important thing," Professor Snape said. "You must learn to look after one another and take care of each other against the other three houses because you will soon learn that you can only rely on your fellow snakes, and no one else." Rose frowned. He couldn't be honest, could he? Of course she was going to trust her brother, and Hermione, who was a perfectly good girl. She may not tolerant most, but Rose was not going to cut off her connections to the few that she did.

"Know the rules. Curfew is eight thirty during the week day, and eleven on weekends," Snape said. "Now go to sleep. You'll have a long day tomorrow." With that Snape left as dramatically as he entered.

"Meet me for breakfast, seven-thirty?" Draco whispered quickly to Rose as they parted up their staircases. Rose shot him a nod of her head before she entered her dormitory. The girl's dorms were a round room with silver walls and a cream colored carpet. Five silver colored four poster beds cured around the walls, each one with a truck next to it. Another door, the washroom, was also on the other side of the room. Rose went to the bed that had the truck labeled 'RLP' next to it.

"Gwaine!" Rose exclaimed in excitement as the dark hair kitten jumped into her arms.

"That's an adorable cat," Daphne, whose bed was next to hers said. Rose smiled at her.

"Oi, Potter!" Pansy Parkinson called out.

"What, Parkinson?" Rose replied without even looking up at her. The pug looking girl came up to her with her hands crossed in front of her chest.

"You better stay away from Draco," Pansy said. "He's mine, not yours." Rose raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

"I will be friends without whoever I fucking please," Rose sneered at her. Gasps her heard from the other girls in the room. This was not what Pansy wanted to hear. Her face turned red and she stomped back to her bed.

"Good job putting Parkinson in her place," Daphne said with a laugh.

"Thanks." Rose was starting to like the blonde girl.

"She's honestly mental; she thinks that her and Draco are destined to be married," Daphne rolled her eyes. Rose smiled and began to prepare for bed. After being dressed in a sleeping grown and brushing her teeth, Rose snuggled into her bed with Gwaine snoozing at her feet.

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	5. Classes and Trolls

Chapter 5: Classes and Trolls

Rose woke up the next morning at the crack of dawn. She was always an early riser unlike her brother who could sleep until noon if he could. She walked over to the only window in their room. It must have enchanted because instead of the bottom of the lake, she could see the sun rise from between two mountains. After watching the sun rise, Rose went to the washroom to shower.

Once dressed in her new Slytherin uniform and robes (she made sure she still wore her birthday necklace), Rose quickly dried her hair with a towel. Since it was still wet, it fell in thin curls down her back. She picked up her messenger bag that had all of her books (she didn't know which classes she would have today). Luckily, her bag has a feather weight charm on it. Rose checked the time on the clock in the room. Seven. Classes would start at eight thirty. Deciding to be kind, she went to each girl's bed and woke them softly, except for Pansy of course.

As the girls rushed to shower and get ready, Rose skipped down the steps to the common room and made herself comfortable in one of the armchairs. She pulled out one of her textbooks and decided to reread them.

"Morning," Draco yawned as he came down the steps of the boy's dormitory half an hour later.

"Sleep well?" Rose asked him as they left the common room.

"I wish! Crabbe and Goyle snore; I could barely sleep," Draco told her. Rose chuckled at that, imagining Draco, Blaise, and Theo using pillows to cover their ears.

"Draco, I wanted to ask why you treated Hermione badly yesterday," Rose asked.

"Because she's a mudblood!" Draco was too quick to respond. Rose recognized that term from one of her magic history books. It was an extremely offensive term used against muggleborns. The word 'racism' came to Rose's mind. She stopped in her tracks which caused Draco to stop.

"Draco, do you want to be my friend?" Rose asked.

"Yes, of course," Draco answered with a grin. It would make his father proud to have befriended a Potter, and he thought Rose was a cool girl.

"Then never _ever _say such a slur in my presence," Rose said with a sneer and walked away from him.

"Wait!" Draco called out for her. He ran after the red head, grabbing her arm. "I promise not to say mu- that word." Rose turned to look at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you also promise to treat Hermione nicely?" Rose asked. Draco hesitated which caused Rose to give him a look.

"Fine," Draco surrendered.

"Great!" Rose responded with a smile. She grabbed Draco's hand (which caused him to blush) and began to lead him up the stairs.

"Um, Rose, the Great Hall is downstairs," Draco reminded her.

"I know," Rose said as she continued.

"Then where are we going?" Draco asked. He didn't get a response, but followed her any way. After multiple staircases later (a few even moved!), Rose and Draco found themselves standing in front of the painting of The Fat Lady.

"Lily?" the painting asked with a tone of surprise.

"No, I'm Rose," She answered with a confused look on her face. "Could you please open, I need to see my brother." The painting swung open without even realizing that they were Slytherin.

"How did you know where the Gryffindor common room was?" Draco asked.

"In a book," Rose rolled her eyes. Did no one besides Hermione bother to read _Hogwarts, A History_?

"What are we doing here?" Draco asked again. He looked obviously uncomfortable about being in the Lion's Den.

"Here for my brother and Hermione," Rose said as if it was obvious.

"Oh, of course, my mistake," Draco replied sarcastically. Rose went up one of the staircases to the dormitory. Draco looked around the common room. It was empty, but he was still afraid someone would wake up and kick him out. He wanted to follow Rose, but decided to stay right next to the exit, just in case.

"Draco?" A voice interrupted his thinking his thinking. It was Hermione, who was coming down from the girl's dormitory. She looked different though. Instead of the bushy brown hair she had yesterday, her hair came down in pretty loose curls and waves.

"Mu-Gr-Hermione," Draco said, remembering his promise.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she walked towards him.

"Rose wanted to get you and Harry for breakfast," Draco responded. Hermione's face lit up at his words. Then Rose hand down from the boy's dormitory dragging a half asleep Harry. His hair was sticking up in odd angles and his eyes were still closed, but he was completely dressed in his Gryffindor robes and had his messenger bag.

"Good morning, Hermione!" Rose greeted the girl. Hermione went and gave Rose a large hug.

"Thank you so much for that hair potion, it really works!" Hermione thanked the red head, who returned it with a smile. The four friends made their way to the Great Hall where breakfast was being served. Now, they had the choice. Gryffindor table or Slytherin table.

"Come on, Draco," Rose said as she followed her brother and Hermione to the red and gold table.

"But we're Slytherins!" He reminded her.

"So?" Rose said and went to sit next to her brother, across from Hermione. Draco looked between the two table. After a moment of hesitation, Draco sighed and went to sit next to Hermione.

As the Great Hall began to fill with students, whispers and gasps could be heard as everyone stared at the two snakes who sat at the lion's table.

"Morning, beautiful," the Weasely twins greeted Rose as they went to sit next to her. Harry and Draco shot the ginger twins a glare.

"Morning, Fred, George," Rose greeted with a blush. They continued to eat their breakfast until the head of houses started to pass out their schedules. When Professor McGonagall reached them, she simply gave Rose and Draco a curious look and a small smile before giving her lions their schedules. Gasps filled the Great Hall, as Professor Snape walked over to the Gryffindor table, and handed Rose and Draco their schedules. He didn't say anything, but gave the two a glare.

When Professor Snape returned to the teacher's table, Dumbledore was smiling.

"Isn't it a wonder, that barely a day had past and their already disregard the house 'feuds'?" the old man said with a twinkle in his eyes. Snape rolled his eyes. The two brats were lucky that one of them was his godson and the other looked the way she did, or he would have yelled at them both and told them to return to their house table.

Rose was looking at her schedule. She was going to have to memorize it since Harry wasn't. They had Potions and then Defense Against the Dark Arts today. Tuesday was Charms and History of Magic. Wednesday was Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy at midnight. Thursday was Charms and Transfigurations, and then double Potions on Friday. She was relieve to see that the Slytherins had most of their classes with the Gryffindor except for Herbology which they had with the Ravenclaws and History of Magic which they had with the Hufflepuffs.

After saying good bye to Fred and George, the four friends made their way down to the Dungeons. They met up with Ron, who had been looking for Harry. He gave Draco and Rose the cold shoulder, but Rose didn't take it as personally (but Draco did). When they entered the potions classroom, Harry and Rose sat together next together in the front while Hermione sat down next to Draco before he could protest. Ron sat next to Neville.

Suddenly the classroom doors swung open and Snape came billowing in. He went to the front of the class room, and began roll call. He stopped when he reached Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity." Rose was grateful that he hadn't drawn attention to her game, but she still gave Snape a glare.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion- making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." More silence followed this little speech. Rose stared at her professor with wonder, completely taken by his words.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly, directing it to Harry. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione's hand quickly shot up. Rose looked at her brother who pleaded for help.

"It makes a sleeping potion, so powerful that it's called the Draught of Living Death," Rose answered without missing a step. Snape gave her look and smirked.

"Where would you look if I took you to find a bezoar, Ms. Potter?" Snape asked. Rose frowned. She knew that was an extremely advanced question that they wouldn't learn until second year. What was he trying to prove?

"It's a stone from the inside of the stomach of a goat, sir, and it can save a person from most poisons," Rose replied. Snape frowned.

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" Snape continued. Now, he was being ridiculous. That's a question you would asked a fifth year!

"They are the same plant that also goes by the name of Aconite," Rose was smirking at this point.

"Well, why aren't you all writing this down?" Snape snapped

"Twenty points to Slytherin for not being a complete idiot," Snape said. He waved his wand, and instructions came on the board. "You may begin." Everyone was about to start, but Snape spoke again. "Oh, and Ms. Potter, next time I would advise you to allow your brother to face his stupidity." A few of the Slytherins sniggered in the background.

"Git," Harry mumbled under his breath. Rose turned around to see who had laughed. Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode. Rose send them a death glare and gave them the middle finger when Snape wasn't looking. Rose turned back around, satisfied with the look of disgust on Pansy's face.

As Harry and Rose continued their potions, Rose made sure that their potion was completely perfect. She knew however that Professor Snape would call them out if he saw that Rose was doing all of the work. So Rose made sure to supervise her brother very well. She knew that Harry was defiantly not an idiot, but he had trouble remembering things and paying attention (probably because of how much Dudley knocked him over the head when they were kids).

"Dice them, don't crush them," She said, anticipating what Harry was going to do with the fluxweed.

"Yeah, sorry," Harry said as he began to dice. "How did you-?"

"You're my brother. I know what you're thinking before you even do it." She said humorously. Together they had made a prefect potion. Looking over to Draco and Hermione, she saw that the two had also made a prefect potion. With a smile, Rose bottled her potion and placed it on Snape's desk.

The rest of the day went on pretty well. Defense Against the Dark Arts was complete rubbish since Quirrell could barely speak without stuttering and his entire classroom smelled like garlic. Afterwards they went to lunch. This time, Rose had persuaded Harry and Hermione to sit with them at the Slytherin table. They did, but refused to sit too close to the snakes. So Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Rose sat on the end of the table.

"Can we sit here?" Came the voice of Blaise Zabini. He and Theodore Nott were standing there next to them.

"Of course," Draco said as his friends seated themselves beside him.

"We thought only lions were allowed to sit with you two," Theo said with a grin on his face. Rose laughed and Draco gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

"I'm Blaise and this is Theo," Blaise introduced themselves to Hermione and Harry.

"Hermione," She introduced herself to the two boys. Before Harry could introduce himself (which was completely pointless), Daphne came and sat down next to Rose. Along with her came Tracey Davis.

"Well, aren't we having a party," Daphne joked.

"We are know," Rose responded to her friends they sat down. So the group of eight continued their lunch, enjoying each other's company.

Later that evening, Rose found herself with Hermione in the library completing their potions essay. A few moments later Draco and Daphne had joined them.

"Honestly, I told them that they should be here doing their essay!" Hermione said. She was referring to Harry and Ron who had decided they would rather play games of wizarding chess than homework.

"That's because boys are trolls," Daphne said. Draco cleared his throat giving Daphne a look.

"All accept for you Draco," Rose said sarcastically. "You're a dear." Draco rolled his eyes and the group continued their essays. They were all complete by dinnertime.

The rest of the week went smoothly. They went to classes, ate meals, and did homework. Charms was well since Professor Flitwich was a fun teacher. History of Magic was so boring! Rose decided that if there was going to be one class that she would fail, it would be this one. She spent most of the class sleeping or stopping Draco and Blaise from terrorizing the poor Hufflepuffs. Herbology was an quiet class since the Slytherin and Ravenclaws didn't have any quarrels with each other yet still refused to speak to each other. Transfiguration was a mixture of the Slytherins competing with the Gryffindors while Professor McGonagall maintain order and silence.

A week later, they had their flying lessons. Once again the Gryffindors were with the Slytherins. However during the lesson, Neville had fallen off his brown and broke his wrist. Pansy Parkinson took this time to pick up the Remember Ball that Neville had dropped, and make fun of him. One thing led to another, and Harry was caught by Professor McGonagall riding his broomstick when he wasn't allowed to.

Rose waited patiently for her brother to return from McGonagall's office. She was awfully worried about the amount of trouble her brother might get in. Once Harry exited her office, Rose jumped to him.

"You idiot!" Rose said as she hugged him. "How many times do I have to tell you that if you're going to break the rules make sure no one is looking!"

"Don't worry, Rosie, I'm not in trouble." Said Harry. "McGonagall made me Gryffindor Seeker!"

A few weeks later, Halloween came around. They were sitting in Charms class, learning the levitation spell.

"Remember children, it's 'Wingardium Leviosa' and swish and flick!" Professor Flitwich reminded them. The entire class began attempt the charm on a feather. So far, only Rose, Hermione, and Draco were able to do so. Seamus Figgian was able to set his feather on fire, and poor Neville was trying to put it out with his hat.

"Ron, you're saying it wrong! It's Wing- gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the "gar" nice and long," Hermione told Ron who she was sitting next to. She then preformed the spell once again and the feather levitated up to the sky. By the end of the class, Ron was in a very bad temper.

As they were walking to their next class, Ron was speaking loudly to Seamus Figgian and Dean Thomas.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to the two Gryffindors. ''She's a nightmare, honestly!" Hermione, who was walking behind him with Rose and Harry, overheard the ginger. Her eyes filled with tears, and she ran away from the group with her hands covering her face.

"Hey! She heard you Ron!" Harry yelled at him as he turned him around.

"So?" Ron said.

"So! You're an arrogant prat who just made a girl cry!" Rose screamed. She was absolutely livid, and wanted to slap Ron. Fortunately, Harry had anticipated her actions and grabbed her hands before she could. Rose then began to yell every swear and curse word she knew at the youngest Weasely boy. Harry quickly clasp his hand shut over her mouth and dragged her way. Before they left, Rose made sure to give Ron the finger whose face was completely red with embarrassment and anger.

Later that evening, Harry sat at the Gryffindor table during the Halloween feast. He scanned the Great Hall for either a head of crimson or chestnut curls. Instead he found a head of straight platinum blond.

"Harry, come quickly," Draco said to the green eyed boy.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked as he followed the boy out of the Great Hall.

"I found Rose and Hermione," he said. They ran to one of the girls' bathroom that was on the first floor. As they did, they passed Professor Quirrell who didn't seem to notice them. When they entered the bathroom, they saw Rose comforting Hermione by the sinks.

"Don't worry about him, love," Rose cooed as she wiped away Hermione's tears.

"Weasely's total git anyway," Draco told her as he and Harry got closer to the two. This seemed to be the right thing to say because Hermione finally smiled.

Suddenly, the bathroom door bursted opened as a giant troll made its way in. Hermione let out a scream, and the troll swung its club in their direction. Luckily, the four first year's jumped out of the way. Harry had to pull Hermione, who seemed frozen with fear.

"Reducto!" Rose said as she pointed her wand at the troll. The spell hit the troll, but didn't injure him. What it did do however was cause the troll to notice her and with his free hand, he picked her up and began to swing her around.

"PUT MY SISTER DOWN!" Harry yelled as he jumped onto the back of the troll. He stuck his wand up its nose which caused the troll to shriek with pain and drop its club. Draco, who saw his chance, pulled out his wand and said:

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He levitated the club up until it was above the troll's head. He canceled the charm and the club dropped hard down on its head. The troll collapsed, dropping Harry and Rose in the process.

"Yuck," Harry said as he tried to wipe the troll snot from his wand. Hermione ran to Rose to help her up.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Rose mumbled as she stood. "That was bloody brilliant though, Draco." Draco smiled. At that point, Professor McGonagall came running in with Quirrell and Snape behind her. They all gasped when they saw the destroyed bathroom and unconscious troll. Quirrell fainted. Snape sidestepped allowing the turban wearing professor to land on the floor with a thud.

"What were you thinking? You could have been killed? Why aren't you in your dorms?" Professor McGonagall shrieked at the four.

"But, Professor we left the Great Hall, looking for Rose and Hermione, before we heard about the troll!" Draco said quickly. McGonagall gave the Slytherin a look, trying to see if he was lying.

"Yeah, Hermione and I were here long before dinner even started," Rose added.

"Please Professor, it wasn't their fault. We honestly didn't even know about the troll," Hermione said. After a moment, Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Fine, ten points to Gryffindor for showing a great deal of bravery," She said. Hermione and Harry grinned at her.

"Ten points to Slytherin for not dying," Snape grumbled at Draco and Rose. Then, they were ushered back to their common rooms by their heads of house. Rose and Draco following after Snape as they went to the dungeons while Harry and Hermione followed McGonagall up the flights of stairs.

A month later, Rose found herself in the Slytherin stands during the first quidditch game of the year. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. She was tied between the two teams. On one hand, she had obvious pride for her house, but on the other her brother was on the Gryffindor team. So Rose had her brother's Gryffindor scarf and her own Slytherin scarf both wrapped loosely around her neck. She cheered on whenever both team scored. To be honest though, Rose was slightly jealous of her brother for getting on the quidditch team before she did, but she knew that Professor Snape would never let her as a first year.

"Aye! Marcus! You're a chaser, not a bloody beater!" Rose yelled at the Slytherin captain as he sent a bludger towards Harry.

"Relax Rose, the professors would never allow any actual harm to occur," Daphne assured her. Rose sat in between her and Draco. They continued to watch the match. Rose's eyes were pinpointed on her brother. She watched as he flew smoothly on his Nimbus 2000. She smirked. She knew it was a good idea to sneak their brooms in with their trucks.

Suddenly, Rose noticed that Harry's broom began to jerk and move without his permission. '_What the-,' _Rose thought.

"Draco, Daphne, look!" Rose nudged the two Slytherins and pointed to her brother. Harry's broom was beginning to vibrate so hard that he could barely hold on. The Weasely twins began to circle beneath him, hoping to catch him if he fell.

"It looks enchanted," Draco commented.

"It's Quirrell!" Daphne exclaimed to the two as the pointed to the teacher's booth. Looking over, Rose saw that it was indeed him. The turban wearing professor lips were moving quickly as he casted the spell on Harry's broom.

Without saying a word, Rose quickly left the Slytherin booth and made her way to the teacher's. She sneaked beneath the bleachers until she saw Quirrell's purple robes. She casted a stinging hex right at him. Quirrell shrieked and jumped to his feet and fell over. Rose couldn't help but smirk when she heard the cracking sound of Quirrell's head hitting one of the bleachers.

As Rose was leaving the teacher's bleachers, her eyes made contact with Snape's dark ones. She could have sworn that she had heard him whisper: "Five points to Slytherin."

When she returned to the Slytherin booth, Rose was just in time to see her brother land on the pitch's ground and spit out the snitch.

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	6. Mirrors and Stones

**Here we are! The end of their first year! I hope you enjoy it. I'm currently writing their third year and still have to go back and edit the second year chapters.**

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Chapter 6: Mirrors and Stones

Before they knew it, it was Christmas Eve. Nearly everyone had returned home for the holidays. Hermione and Draco had stayed behind at Hogwarts with Harry and Rose. Along with them, Fred and George had stayed despite the fact that Percy and Ron had went back home (probably because Ron was still embarrassed about what he said to Hermione).

They were currently all sitting in the Gryffindor common room together. They had pushed couches and armchairs together to form a small circle around the fireplace. They had also covered the floor with blankets and pillows. Draco, who had grown to become comfortable in the Lion's den, was playing a round of wizard chess with Harry. Hermione was curled up by the fire place reading a book. Now and then she would doze off, but quickly jolt herself awake.

Rose sat between Fred and George on one of the couches. They had purposely chosen the smallest couch that they could find so that they could squish up against Rose. They were telling her stories and tales about their family, friends, anything that would make her laugh.

Later that evening, after a lovely Christmas dinner, everyone was sound asleep. Rose and Draco were sleeping over with the rest of the Gryffindor in the common room. Rose and Harry were curled up against each other. It was the first time in months that the two Potters where able to snuggle up against each other. Rose curled into a tiny ball at her brother's side while he slung a protective arm around her.

The next morning, Rose was the first one awake and was waking everyone up.

"Five more minutes, mum," Fred groaned as Rose shook him.

"I'm not your mum!" Rose said as she gave him one last shake.

"I would hope not," George mumbled. At that point, everyone was awoken and began to rummage through their presents. Harry and Rose were shocked to find a massive pile of gifts for _them! _They only expected to receive gifts from each other.

Rose began to tear through her gifts. Harry had gotten her a silver charm bracelet that had a golden broomstick charm and a charm of a cartoon wizard hat. She had gotten her brother brand new dragon hide quidditch gloves along with a golden plate with his name engraved on it that he could attach to his broom.

She had gotten Draco a golden quidditch theme chess set which he loved. Draco, on the other hand, who must have known what Harry had gotten her, gave her a silver snake charm that had emerald eyes along with a pair of diamond earrings. Regardless to say, both boys got large hugs and kisses on the cheek from her. She did not notice that both Fred and George appeared a bit jealous of the gifts that Draco had given her.

Her next gift was from Hermione, who got her an interesting book about the magic of animagus. In return, Rose gifted her brunette friend a lovely golden locket that was encrusted in rubies. Inside of the locket was a moving picture of her, Hermione, Harry, and Draco. Hermione had nearly fainted when she saw the necklace, and then protested that she couldn't accept such an expensive gift. Rose refused, saying:

"Hermione, it's the first time in my life that I have money to spend, and you can bet that I'll be spending it on my friends!"

Fred and George had gotten her a case of different vials of potions (she couldn't wait to examine them all). It was quite similar to those chocolate boxes where each one was different, but came with a list of what they were. Instead of caramel and nuts, there was a hair color changer and one that could give people spots. Along with it came a note that read:

'_Pour some of this in Ronniekins drink! _

_Love, Gred and Forge 3'_

In return, Rose and Harry got Fred and George each a Nimbus 2000.

"Merlin's left testicle!" Fred exclaimed. He was not expecting to pull out the long broomstick when he opened the small package. Rose had made sure she learned how to perform the extension charm perfectly. George was completely dumbfounded as he stared at the broomstick. He had never held anything this expensive in his entire life.

"Rose, Harry, we can't," He began, but was quickly silence by the look Rose gave him. She refused to have the gifts returned. She knew that Fred and George were wonderful people and wonderful quidditch players. And sometimes good things should happen to good people.

"I insist," She said with a smile.

"But you better knock Marcus Flint off his broomstick next match," Harry joked (which they did). Everyone laughed and smiled and looked so happy that it made Rose's heart ache. She quickly went through the rest of her gifts.

Daphne got her nail polish that changed with her mood (so she could finally tell what the redhead was thinking). Theo got a potions book (how did he know?). Blaise got her a large packet of chocolate cauldrons (her favorites!). The last gift shocked her the most. It was a dark blue handmade sweater that had silver 'R' on it from Mrs. Weasley.

"We told mum about you guys," Fred explained. Both he and George had their own maroon sweaters with their initials. Harry got a golden one with a red 'H' while Hermione got a purple one with a white 'H.' The most surprised out of all of them was Draco, who thought that all of the Weaselys (except for the twins) hated him. He got an emerald sweater with a silver 'D'.

Excited with their new gifts, the group went to lunch dressed in Molly Weasely's handmade sweaters. Afterwards they went to play in the snow where Fred and George enchanted snowballs to fly around a hit people (mostly just the back of Professor Quirrell's turban).

They retuned back to the warmth of the school just in time for dinner. Full and satisfied, every one returned to get a good night's sleep. However, the house elves had cleaned up the after match of their little slumber party, forcing them to return to their dormitories.

Rose laid down back in her bed in the Slytherin girls' dormitories. She pulled up her cover for warmth despite still wearing her new sweater (the dungeons were cold at night). Suddenly she felt a warm sensation against her chest. She was about to brush it off but then the sensation became boiling. With a scream, Rose jumped out of bed and pulled at her necklace. She looked at the emerald that hung at the end and was surprised to see that it was burning hot red!

At that moment, Rose's heart fell from her chest to her stomach.

She ran out of the dormitory like a mad woman, barley giving her the chance to put her shoes on. As soon as she ran out of the common room however, she bumped into her brother.

"Oh my god!" Rose yelled as she hugged Harry tightly. "I thought something terrible had happened to you!" She looked up at him, and was surprised to see his cheeks stained with tears. Her smile flattered and she placed a loving hand on his cheek. He leaned in her warm touch.

"I need to show you something," He said soberly. He then threw a cloak over their shoulder, and suddenly they disappeared. "It's an invisibility cloak. Someone left for my with my gifts this morning, saying it was dad's." Rose wanted to ask more questions but she subdued the urge.

Hand in hand, Rose allowed Harry to lead her through Hogwarts. They finally stopped at an abandoned classroom. Inside of it was an extremely large mirror with a golden lining. There was an inscription in the mirror that read: '_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' ' I show not your face but your heart's desire,' _Rose thought, reading the inscription backward.

She stepped up to the mirror and gasped at what she saw. It was her and Harry, but besides them was a man and woman. The man looked like an older version of Harry but with rectangular glasses and hazel eyes. The woman looked just like an older Rose, but she wasn't. Besides them we rows and rows of people. There was an elderly man with Rose's dimples, and a lady with Harry's knobby knees. Countless of men had the same out of messy wild dark hair as her brother. There was a kind looking old woman with their eyes that was holding hands with a man that had the same deep red curls as her.

Rose recognized them instantly. It was their family.

"What do you see Rosie?" Harry asked, his eyes still glued to the mirror.

"I see me and you, and mum and dad. And I think those people are grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins," Her voice was barely a whisper. She could feel warm tears slide down her face. Harry wrapped his arm around her, and the two collapsed in front of the mirror. As they did, so did their reflections. There mirror-parents and mirror-family members knelt down beside them and began to comfort them. The two watched longingly. Rose could have sworn she had felt the gentle hand of her mother, but when she turned her head around, nothing was there.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night until, falling asleep in front of the mirror. It wasn't until Rose felt the light of dawn hit her skin, did she startle herself awake. Quickly waking up her Harry, they reluctantly left the classroom. Harry took her back to the dungeons under his Invisibility Cloak before returning to Gryffindor tower.

Rose went and collapsed onto one of the couches. She fell asleep quickly, exhausted from that night. The last things she could recall before falling asleep, were a pair of dark eyes and cold hands as they covered her thin form with a blanket.

A couple of months later, Rose was sitting in the library reading an interesting book. It was still early in the morning, but since breakfast wouldn't start for another half an hour, she decided to read. Her quiet time was quickly interrupted when Harry came running in (earning a scowl from Madam Pince).

"Rosie!" He exclaimed as he ran towards her.

"What's wrong? What are you doing up this early in the morning?" She asked. Looking at her brother, she noticed that there were dark circled beneath his eyes.

"So last night, I was showing Ron and Hermione the cloak," Harry began. The two Gryffindors had made up with Ron a few weeks earlier much to Rose's discomfort. "And then we saw Mrs. Norris, and Mr. Flich came so we started to run! And then we ended up at a locked door, but Hermione opened it up with a charm! Then inside of the room was a three headed dog, and Hermione said that it was guarding a trapdoor! Then we realized that we were on the third floor!" Rose looked with wide eyes at her brother. After a second, she confirmed that he was telling the truth.

"What could he be possibly guarding?" Rose wondered.

"I don't know, but I bet its whatever was in that vault that was broken into before," Harry stated.

"That's brilliant," Rose said. It was true. Earlier in the year they had read about a Gringotts break in. However it was a complete failure since the vault had already been emptied.

"Well, we need to figure out what the dog's guarding," Harry said. Before Rose could protest, her brother ran out of the library anticipating what she was about to say. Rolling her years, Rose went back to the bookshelves as she looked for a book about three headed dogs.

A few weeks later, Rose found herself in the library once again. However this time, Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Ron were with her. They were trying to find a book about a Nicholas Flamel because apparently Hagrid, the groundskeeper, had slipped out his name when Harry, Hermione, and Ron were visiting (interrogating) him.

"I don't understand why he has to be here?" Ron grumbled _again. _He wouldn't stop complaining about why that told Malfoy about this. Draco looked like he was about to either insult or hex the Weasley. Fortunately Rose would give him a good kick in the shin every time he attempted something.

"Urgh, this is hopeless!" Harry groaned as he closed another book. "We're never gonna find out who Nicholas Flame is like this."

"Nonsense, Harry," Hermione said. "There's nothing that a book won't help with."

"I got it!" Draco suddenly exclaimed. He jumped out of his seat and ran out of the library. Without hesitation, Rose ran after him which caused Harry to run after her which cause Hermione to run after him which caused Ron to run after her. They finally stopped when they reached the dungeons. Draco quickly entered the Slytherin common rooms and returned with a card.

"We ran all that way for a bloody chocolate frog's card," Ron groaned.

"Just listen," Draco said as he began to read the card. "_Albus Dumbledore, Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel._"

"Brilliant!" Rose exclaimed as she hugged the blond boy. At that point, Hermione jumped to her feet and began to run to the Gryffindor Tower. They followed after her.

"Merlin's left nostril! All this running is gonna kill me," Ron mumbled beneath his breath. He could have sworn he heard Rose laugh at his comment.

When they finally reached the Gryffindor common room, Hermione was searching through an extremely large book.

"I got this book for a bit of light reading," Hermione said. They all raised their eyebrows at her. That was a 'bit of light reading?' "Ah! Right here it says that Nicholas Flamel is responsible for creating the Philosopher's Stone. The stone is known for having the ability to turn iron to gold and producing the elixir of life."

"Now who do we know that would want the an elixir of life," Draco said. Suddenly Rose and Harry shared a look with each other.

"Voldemort," They said at the same time. The other three first years winced at the name.

"But, You-Know-Who is gone," Ron said. "Isn't he?" He didn't get a response.

"One of his followers is probably trying to steal it for him," Harry said.

"I bet its Snape," Ron said. Draco and Rose sent him a glare at the same time.

"It's not Snape!" Draco said seriously.

"But at Harry's first quidditch match, I saw Snape casting a spell at Harry's broom," Hermione said. "If it wasn't for Quirrell suddenly falling down, that who knows what would have happened to Harry."

"No! I saw that too, but it was actually Quirrell who was casting the spell," Rose explained. "I was the one who hexed him and made him fall." Everyone gasped.

"You harmed a teacher?" Hermione said, shocked.

"Now it not the time, Hermione," Harry said. "So you're saying it was Quirrell who tried to kill me?"

"Think about it," Draco said. "Remember during Halloween, and we went looking for Rose and Hermione (Ron blushed in embarrassment as he recalled the incident). We had passed right by Quirrell, but he didn't say anything about the troll." This seemed to have silenced the rest of them, but did nothing to calm down their nerves.

Weeks passed and it was time for their final exams. Rose wondered how they were all able to concentrate when they were terrified of Voldemort walking in in the middle of their exams.

It was swelteringly hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuff-box – points were given for how pretty the snuff-box was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion.

Rose felt oddly comfortable during the exams. Unlike her brother, who wasn't able to sit down and doing one thing for a long period of time, Rose enjoyed doing tests. She did especially well on her potion written exam and Forgetfulness Potion.

However she completely bombed her History of Magic exam. She drew a picture instead of actually writing about the Goblin Revolution of 1487.

Once their exams were done, Rose and Draco were relaxing by the lake. Their peace was quickly interrupted by Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who had returned from visiting Hagrid.

"We need to go to Professor Dumbledore, now!'' Hermione said.

"Why?" Draco asked, a bit upset of having to get up.

"Hagrid told a stranger how to get past Fluffy last night," Harry said.

"Who's Fluffy?" Rose asked.

"The three headed dog!" Ron said. This caused them to get on their feet and run towards the castle. Unfortunately, all they found was an annoyed McGonagall who told them that Professor Dumbledore was at the Ministry of Magic.

That night, Rose and Draco waited in the Common Room. They were completely solemn and it was obvious to everyone that they wished not to be bothered. After a while the common room cleared, and there was a knocking on the door. Quickly, the two snakes went to open the door to find Harry, Hermione, and Ron waiting for them with the Invisibility Cloak.

Soon, the five friends were on their way to the third floor. They pulled off the cloak, and Harry stuffed it in his pocket.

"Wait," Ron said as they stopped in front of the door. "Didn't Hagrid say the only thing that would calm Fluffy was music?"

"Rose can sing," Harry said quickly. Rose gave him a hard nudge in the side. "What? You can!"

"But I'm not singing!" Rose replied.

"Honestly, you people are hopeless," Hermione rolled her eyes. She pulled out a wooden flute. "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail."

"JFK, nice," Rose smirked.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Come on," Draco flicked his wand and the door opened. Fluffy was wide awake and began barking and growling.

"Hermione!" Rose yelled at the brunette.

"Got it!" Hermione said. Then she started to play the little wooden flute. As soon as she started singing the lullaby, Fluffy eyes drooped close and he fell asleep. This gave them enough time to get to the trap door.

"Lady's first," Ron said sheepishly at Rose. Rolling her eyes, Rose pushed Ron in. He let out a girlish scream that last for a few minutes before he landed. Rose and Draco followed him. Harry was about to go when he turned to Hermione who was still playing.

"Hermione!" He said. She gave him a look that said 'GO!' and pushed him through the trapdoor. As soon as he was gone, Hermione jumped into the trapdoor, playing as she fell. She landed in a something soft.

"Urgh, what is this stuff?" She could hear Ron ask. It was too dark to see anything.

"It must be some sort of plant," Draco replied.

"We must be miles underneath the school," Rose stated. She tried to reach out for her brother but something stopped her.

"Lucky this plant was here," Harry said. As soon as he did, Rose could feel tentacles start to wrap around her. Hermione and Draco must have felt it too because suddenly that darkness was illuminated by Hermione's wand. Draco and Hermione had freed themselves and were leaning against the damp wall.

"That's a Devil's Snare!" Hermione shrieked.

''Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help,'' snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant curling around his neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Hermione said. Then Draco's eyes lit up.

"Fire!" He exclaimed.

"But there isn't any wood or matches!" Hermione called out, looking around frantically.

"Hermione! We're wizards! _Incendio!_" Draco yelled. Fire spurted from his wand, hitting the plant. The Devil's Snare quickly released them.

"Bloody brilliant, Draco," Ron grumbled. Draco smiled. That was the first time Ron had used his first name.

"This way!" Harry said, leading them through a corridor. They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy, wooden door. Five old broomsticks leaned against the wall.

After using the broomsticks to retrieve a large winged key to open the door, they entered a room with a life sized chess set. Ron and Draco, who were the best out of the five of them at wizarding chess, quickly led them to victory. However their victory caused Ron and Draco to both get knocked out unconscious.

"I'll stay with them," Hermione said. "You two go on!" She ushered the two Potters through door. When they did go through the door they saw just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"This must be Snape's test," Rose said. She eyed the bottles critically. Rose remembered seeing the vials (when they were empty) on her potion professor's desk in the beginning of the year.

They stepped over the threshold and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onwards. They were trapped.

"Look!" Harry said. He picked up a scroll. The two literally put their heads together as they read it:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, _

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, _

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_ Another will transport the drinker back instead, _

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine, _

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. _

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, _

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: _

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide _

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; _

_Second, different are those who stand at either end, _

_But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend; _

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, _

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; _

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right _

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"What does this mean?" Harry wondered. Rose frowned. She tried to concentrate on figuring out the riddle, but she was no Hermione. Sighing, she went to the table and began to do what she did best.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked his sister as she started to sniff the insides of the bottles.

"These two are the wines," Rose said. "So then these two must be poison." As she spoke she pushed the four unwanted bottles away. There were three bottles left. A small one, a round one and a middle sized one. She pushed the middle one away. "And that's poison too."

"How do you know what wine smells like?" Harry asked. Rose didn't answer, but gave him the small vial.

"This will get you through the flames, to the stone," Rose said.

"But we're going together," Harry said. Tears started to well up in Rose's eyes.

"There's only enough for one person," She said. Then she hugged her brother tightly. "And you're the Boy-Who-Lived. You're the one with the scar." Tears began to stream down her face.

"Rose, I don't want to do this without you," Harry said. He sniffed as he repressed his tears.

"No, listen," Rose said as she pulled out of the hug. "Whatever you do, don't die. Promise me." Harry looked away, not answering. "Promise me!"

"I promise, Rosie," Harry said. He kissed her cheek, and took the vial from her. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course, and I love you more than you could ever imagine," Rose replied. She watched as he drank the from the vial and went through the flames. Stifling a sob, Rose drank from her vial and walked back to the chess room.

"Rose! What happened?" Hermione asked. The girl had Ron resting on her lap since Draco had woken up.

"Where's Harry?" Draco asked. Seeing her tears, he went to hug the redhead.

"He went to face Voldemort," Rose said. "Come on, we need to go find a professor or something." Together the four students (they levitated Ron) went past the trials, levitated each other up the trapdoor, soothed Fluffy again, and went to find Dumbledore.

A day later, Rose sat in the hospital wing besides the sleeping form of her brother. They had reached Dumbledore just in time as he was coming back from the Ministry. Apparently someone (cough, Quirrell) had sent his a fake letter from the Ministry.

Dumbledore was able to stop Quierell and Voldemort. He retrieved Harry and brought him to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had already treated Ron and Draco, and now her friends were at the end of the year feast.

They had also gotten their results back that day. Hermione was obviously on the top of the class.

Rose would have been right behind her since she did very well in her exams (she got the highest marks in her potions exams). But drawing a picture of a snake eating a goblin had only gotten her a D score. She found that really amusing since a D score was only the second lowest grade.

This allowed Draco to come second in their class with his great scores. Fortunately Harry and Ron's marks were good as well.

"Rosie?" Harry mumbled as he woke up.

"Harry!" Rose exclaimed as she hugged her brother.

"What happened?" He asked as he hugged her back.

"You kept your promise, that's what happened," Rose said, with tears of joy welling up in her eyes. Harry was about to say something else, when Professor Dumbledore entered.

"May I have a word with Mr. Potter?" He asked the redhead girl.

"Of course, Professor," Rose said as she got up. Before she left, she gave Harry a kiss on the forehead.

Before they knew it, Harry and Rose were in the Hogwarts Express, about to leave to London.

"Oi, 'Arry! Rose!" came the gruffy voice of Hagrid. They two turned to face the half giant man.

"Yes, Hagrid?" Harry said.

"I wanted to giv ya two something," He said as he handed them a large photo album. "It belonged to yer parents." They quickly opened it. Inside was a moving image of a pretty redhead in a wedding dress with a dark hair man in a suit.

"Thank you!" Harry and Rose said at the same time and hugged Hagrid. After saying goodbye to him, they entered their compartment. Inside, Ron and Draco were playing a game of exploding snap. Hermione was petting Gwaine, Rose's cat, who was curled on her lap. Fred and George had appeared halfway through the ride to join them.

"What a year," Rose said as she rested her head against Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah," Harry replied. Everyone then looked at the two.

"Is that all you have to say?" Hermione said. They nodded at her.

"You've fought a troll!" Hermione said.

"Made the quidditch team in your first year," Fred said.

"Made friends with two amazing third years," George added, and winked at them.

"Rebelled against an ancient house rivalry," Draco said.

"AND DEFEATED YOU-KNOW-WHO!" Ron was the last to exclaim.

"And all you have to say is," Fred started.

" 'What a year' and 'yeah'?" George finished.

"Yeah," Rose replied. Everyone laughed and continued to enjoy each other's company as the Hogwarts Express returned to Kings Cross.

* * *

**Please review and leave any comments!**


	7. Elves and Flying Cars

Chapter 7: Elves and Flying Cars

Rose Potter was absolutely devastated when Uncle Vernon had come to pick her and Harry up from Kings Cross. They had purposely not sent them a letter informing them of the time and date of the pickup in hopes that they could just sneak off to the Leaky Cauldron again. However they never got the chance since Uncle Vernon and grabbed both Rose and Harry and dragged them to the car.

An hour later and they were back in Privet Drive. From that point on they were thrown back into their former life of servitude for the Dursleys. Every morning, Rose would wake up, mop and dry the floors in the kitchen and living room. Then she would wake up Harry and together they would prepare the Dursleys' large breakfast.

After discreetly stealing a few strips of bacon and toast for her and her brother, Aunt Petunia would throw them outside to work in the garden. Both twins usually enjoyed their time outside since they could be alone and talk to each other. However Aunt Petunia purposely made sure that Harry worked in the front yard while Rose worked in the back yard. This allowed Dudley and his gang of petty bullies to play a good ol' game of throw rocks at Harry. Bonus points if you could hit his head.

Then they would return into the house, and prepare lunch for Dudley and his friends. This would be the most frustrating ordeal in Rose's opinion for a good reason. While her cousin saw Rose as nothing more than his freak of a cousin, his friends did not. So she would spend the time trying to avoid wandering hands while Harry stopped her from poisoning their food.

"_Just a tiny bit of rat poison," _Rose hissed quietly in parseltongue. She didn't even realize she was speaking in the serpent language. Her and Harry were currently scrubbing dishes together. _"Enough to make Rat Face sick!" _She was referring to Piers (he did have rat-like features) who had the audacity to brush his hand up her leg.

"_Even a tiny bit will kill him," _Harry replied, rolling his eyes (he also was unaware of the language they were speaking in). Once again, he was oblivious to what was happening in front of his face. '_Clueless Gryffindors,' _Rose thought and grumbled profanity beneath her breath.

Next came a good solid four hours of scrubbing the house clean. Despite cleaning the house every day, Aunt Petunia still insisted that the house was scrubbed meticulously every day. They were each assigned rooms so that they could never been in the same room alone together during the day (Aunt Petunia believe they would cause some sort of mischief).

When Uncle Vernon returned from work, he would bark at Harry and Rose until they went to the kitchen and started to prepare dinner. As they cooked dinner, the Dursleys took this time to do their favorite pastime. Sitting in front of the telly while they threw insults at the twins.

"Useless brats can't even prepare dinner on time," Uncle Vernon growled, matching the sound of his stomach.

After dinner and cleaning up (again), the twins were sent to their room. The small Spartan bedroom still looked the same as it did since last summer. One pathetic bed in the corner that was shared by both of them along with a worn out wardrobe and old desk. Harry and Rose kept their things in their trucks beneath their bed since they used the wardrobe to store Dudley's old toys. Hedwig's cage sat in the corner of the room parallel to the bed while Gwaine slept in a bundle of old clothing next to her.

Uncle Vernon had also been kind enough to change the locks on their door. This time, they didn't have a key hole on their side of the door (so Rose couldn't pick it).

Now, Rose sat at the same place that she was a year ago: on top of their desk, staring out the window. Something had been troubling her. After weeks on being back on Privet Drive, both Harry and Rose had sent multiple letters to their friends while the Dursley's slept yet no one responded. Rose told herself to relax and not worry about it, but a part of her was starting to think that they had abandon them.

Rose closed her eyes and tried to remember her time at Hogwarts. She recalled waking Daphne up in the morning and laughing at her groans as the blonde struggled out of bed. Draco's tired face as he complained about Crabbe and Goyle's snores on their way to breakfast. The bright smile Hermione would get whenever they invited her along to something despite her protests about having to do homework. Fred and George with their mischievous grins as they grabbed her hands and dragged her away to show her something. Watching her brother soar through the Quidditch pitch, searching for the golden snitch while the stands roared with enthusiasm. Rose even missed the way Ron looked with furrowed eyebrows as he concentrated on his chess match.

"GIRL! GET DOWN NOW!" Uncle Vernon yelled. Rose groaned and turned to her brother.

"Don't worry, Rosie," Harry assured her. He was sitting in bed, writing his Transfiguration essay. "Everything will be fine."

"At least you don't have to pretend to be Uncle Vernon's 'lovely' niece for the whole night," Rose grumbled. The Dursley's were apparently having very important guests over that had to do with their uncle's work. Supposedly Uncle Vernon had heard that their guest's wife, Mrs. Gernings, absolutely adored young girls after having worked as a nurse in an girls-only orphanage. So Rose was forced to get all dressed up, and pretend that she was the grateful orphan who was taken in by her _loving _uncle and aunt.

Rose went down stairs to find Aunt Petunia in the kitchen. The woman was pink curlers in her blonde hair along with a green face mask and white shower robe. In her hand was a shopping bag.

"You will shower, fix that rat's nest you call hair, and get dressed," Aunt Petunia instructed with a sneer. She threw the shopping bag at Rose. Rolling her eyes, Rose made her way to the bathroom.

After showering, Rose knew better than trying to take a comb to her hair. The last time that happened (Aunt Petunia's first and final attempt when she was six), the comb broke and her hair became angry and puff up more. Instead, Rose took a large handful (cough, the whole bottle) of Sleekeasy's Hair Balm and smeared it all over her hair. After a few minutes, Rose's vibrant red hair was now pin straight and flat and a bit dull in color. She sneered at her reflection, but knew that this was what Aunt Petunia wanted.

"Bloody hell," Rose whispered as she pulled out the dress from the shopping bag. It was an obnoxiously bright pink with puffy sleeves and skirt. Frowning, she slipped on the dress and turned back to her reflection. She looked like a short pink marshmallow. Pink was defiantly not her color.

"I'm ready, Aunt Petunia," Rose said as she exited the bathroom. Petunia was preparing a large purple pudding in the kitchen. She was already dressed in a peach colored cocktail dress and had her hair curlers out.

"Finally! Go set the table."

An hour later, Uncle Vernon and Dudley came downstairs dressed in sports coats.

"Oh! Look at my boys, dressed all up!" Aunt Petunia cooed. Uncle Vernon beamed proudly at the woman while Dudley just pulled at his collar.

Soon, their guests arrived. Uncle Vernon ushered Rose and Dudley to answer the door.

"Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Gernings, it's a pleasure to meet you," Rose said in her sweetish voice as she batted her eyelashes. Mrs. Gernings, who was a short brunette lady with kind brown eyes, smiled and looked like she wanted to hug her.

"May I take your coats, sir and madam?" Dudley said, repeating the few lines he had memorized. In the background, Rose could hear Aunt Petunia squeal about her son. Mr. Gernings, who had a hard face and cropped dark hair, said nothing and handed Dudley his coat along with his wife's.

"Welcome to our home!" Uncle Vernon greeted cheerfully as he and Aunt Petunia came up to them. They shook each other's hands.

"Please come in," Aunt Petunia said as she led them to the living room.

"This is my wife, Petunia, my son, Dudley, and my niece, Rose," Vernon introduced as they all sat down.

"What a lovely name for such a pretty girl," Mrs. Gernings complimented in a soft voice. Aunt Petunia tried to hide her discomfort and disapproval. In her opinion, Rose was just as weird looking and disgusting as her sister had been.

"Thank you ma'am," Rose replied politely. She sat next to Dudley with her hands on her lap and her ankles crossed. A year of being with pureblooded Slytherins had left her with a vast knowledge of social etiquette.

"We heard that your parents were no longer with us," Mrs. Gernings continued, her eyes softening at her words. Vernon looked like he was about to respond for her when Mr. Gernings sent him a hard look.

"Yes, they died in a tragic car crash," Rose lied smoothly. She tried to hide the disgust in her eyes. "Fortunately, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were kind enough to bring me into their lovely home and treat me like their own." She turned to smile and her Aunt and Uncle who quickly tried to cover their surprise. They never knew that the girl could lie so well. What else had she lied about to them?

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Mrs. Gernings exclaimed as she reached to hug Rose. Rose allowed her to do so. It felt odd. She had only ever hugged her friends and her brother before. However she let herself to enjoy the woman's motherly touch.

Dinner was an uncomfortable ordeal. At least it was for Rose who wanted to gorge her eyes out if she had to hear Uncle Vernon gush to Mr. Gernings again. Dudley stayed silent, being content with simply stuffing his mouth. Aunt Petunia on the other hand was obviously displeased with the fact that all of her attempts of conversation with Mrs. Gernings had been dismissed. Mrs. Gernings was more interested in Rose which caused the older blonde woman to shimmer in her jealousy. The only good thing about the dinner was the food that Rose was discreetly saving in her napkin for Harry. She quickly hid it in the folds of her dress.

"Dear, where did you say you went to school?" Mrs. Gernings asked. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's eyes fell on her. However before Rose could construct a believable lie, Dudley answered.

"Rose goes to a school in Scotland with her brother." Dudley answered with his cheeks stuffed with food and grease dripping down his mouth. He quickly realized what he said and covered his mouth. Yet Vernon and Petunia glared at Rose as if it was her fault that Dudley couldn't control himself.

"Brother?" Mrs. Gernings asked, raising a thin eyebrow. Mr. Gernings found himself interested as well.

"Yes, my brother," Rose said with polite tone and smile never wavering. "We both go to a boarding school in Scotland that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia found for us. Unfortunately he had already made prior arrangements to meet with his friends in London, so he couldn't make it to the dinner."

Her half lie seemed to have settled the mood in the room, and dinner went on. Mrs. Gernings tried to revive the subject of Rose's brother, but the Slytherin girl was successful in changing the subject each time.

Nearly an hour later, they returned to the living room. Aunt Petunia pulled Rose into the kitchen. Petunia opened the fridge and pulled out the large purple pudding she had prepared.

"Listen now," Petunia sneered at Rose. She grabbed the girl's thin arm and squeezed it tightly. There will be a bruise there the next morning. "You will wait here while Vernon and I have talk with the Gernings without your freakishness there to distract them. When I call, you bring the dessert in. Understood?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Rose responded. She tried hard not to roll her eyes. Petunia returned to the living room to her guests. Suddenly Rose started to hear banging from upstairs.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Rose whispered. Her question was quickly as a small creature came tumbling down the stairs. Rose gasped, and recognized it as a House Elf. They served them at Hogwarts. This one was tiny and wrinkly with large lime-green eyes and wore a stained pillow case.

"Mr. and Ms. Potter will not go the Hogwarts!" the elf said. Right after him, Harry came running down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Dobby! Stop!" Harry exclaimed. Rose was at a loss of words. What was going on?!

"You will not go to Hogwarts!" Dobby said firmly. Then he snapped his fingers and levitated the large purple pudding. He moved towards the living room where everyone was. Rose and Harry quickly followed after them.

"Please don't!" Rose cried. But it was too late, and Dobby dropped the pudding on top of one of Mrs. Gernings's head and disappeared. Everyone turned to look at them. Suddenly an owl flew through the window dropping a letter in Harry's hand.

"BACK TO YOUR ROOM!" Uncle Vernon yelled as Aunt Petunia tried to comfort Mrs. Gernings who was covered in pudding.

"They're disturbed! We swear the boy can't control himself!" Petunia repeated as she patted her with the napkin. She only succeeded in staining the dress further.

A week later, Rose's view of the window was now impaired by the steel bars that hung in front of it. They also had a cat door installed so that Aunt Petunia would give them a meal once a day. They were only allowed out of the room for five minutes a day to use the loo.

"Stupid house elf," Rose mumbled beneath her breath. Once they were trapped in the room, Harry told Rose everything that had happened with the house elf, Dobby.

Rose slumped down and looked at her brother. Harry was rereading the letter they had gotten from the Ministry. It read:

_Dear Mr. and Ms. Potter,_

_We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine._

_As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spell work on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C)._

_We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy._

_Enjoy your holidays! Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_

_Ministry of Magic_

Days passed and the Dursleys were not relenting. They would leave them a bowl of soup and a piece of bread every day. The food that Rose sneaked in from the dinner only lasted for two days. Rose and Harry shared the soup as they divided the bread between Hedwig and Gwaine. That night, Harry was asleep in bed while Rose sat at the desk again. She was too hungry to sleep.

Suddenly, Rose saw the weirdest thing. A flash of red zoomed pasted their window before reappearing. It was Fred and George Weasely! And they were floating outside of her window. Rose rubbed her eyes but when she opened it they were still there.

"Stand back, love," One of them said with a wink. Rose did as she was told, and watched as they put a hook around the iron bars of window and began to drive away to pull it off. That's when she noticed that they were in a car, a flying car!

"Harry! Wake up!" Rose shook her brother.

"What's going on?" Harry grumbled as he woke up.

"We're being saved!" Rose exclaimed. Jumping to their feet, they went to retrieve their trunks and animal carriers. As Rose ushered Gwaine back into his cage, the Weasely boys had succeeded in pulling the iron bars off. It fell with a large bang into Aunt Petunia's flower bushes. While they were driving back to the window, Uncle's Vernon's footsteps and screams were heard.

"Quickly!" Harry said as he handed Hedwig's cage to Ron who was sitting in the backseat. They unlocking of the multiple locks could be heard. Rose handed Harry's their trunks and Gwaine's carrier. Then the door swung open. Without thinking, Rose pushed her brother into the car. As she was about to climb in, she felt Uncle Vernon's large hand grab her ankle.

"GET BACK IN HERE! YOU FREAKS!" He yelled. Ron and Harry struggled to pull Rose into the car.

"GET OFF OF HER!" Fred yelled as he grabbed Rose's hand and tried to pull her in. Rose felt like she was going to be ripped apart. Giving Uncle Vernon one last look, Rose did what she had always wanted to do. With her other leg, she kicked Vernon hard right in the face. He was so surprised by the action that he let go of her. This allowed the boys to pull her into the car easily.

"GEORGE DRIVE!" Ron yelled at his brother as Rose closed the door. Then they quickly zoomed away from Privet Drive.

"Bloody brilliant kick!" Fred told Rose as he gave her a high five. Everyone roared with laughter. Both her and Harry had huge grins on their face. They couldn't believe it! They were finally free!

"Let Hedwig out," Harry said. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."

George handed a hairpin to Rose and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.

"So - what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"

They told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when he had finished.

"Very fishy," said Fred finally.

"Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"

"I don't think he meant any actual harm," Harry said.

Rose saw Fred and George look at each other.

"You don't look convinced," Rose stated.

"Well," said Fred, "put it this way - house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?" The three shook their heads.

"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred.

"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house."

"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first-"

"Who's Errol?" Harry asked.

"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes -"

"Who?" Rose asked.

"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.

"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."

"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room ... I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge ..." With that their conversation dissolved. Harry and Ron ended up falling asleep. Rose, who the twins had pulled to sit in between them, fell asleep on Fred's shoulder, much to his delight.

As the light of dawn began to peak over the horizon, Rose woke up. She blushed when she saw the wet spot of drool on Fred's shoulder.

"It's not a problem," Fred assured as he stroked her hair. It was nice and soft. George whistled at them which caused Fred to give him a look. Fortunately, Rose didn't notice because she was busy letting Gwaine out of his cage. The black cat had grown over the year and was no longer a kitten. He stretched and made himself comfortable on Fred's lap.

"He likes you," Rose said. George had to stifle a laugh when he saw that Fred's cheeks were now tinted red.

George brought the car lower, and Ron and Harry woke up.

"We're a little way outside the village," said Fred. "Ottery St. Catchpole."

Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.

"Touchdown!" said George as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Harry and Rose looked out for the first time at Ron's house.

It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, 'The Burrow'. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"It's not much," said Ron.

"It's wonderful," Harry and Rose said at the same. They got out of the car.

"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, `Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and Rose and no one need ever know we flew the car."

"Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the at the top-"

Ron had gone a nasty greenish color, his eyes fixed on the house. The other four wheeled around.

Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger. Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.

"So, "she said.

"Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.

"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to -"

All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone - could have crashed - out of my mind with worry - did you care? - never, as long as I've lived - you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy -"

"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job -"

It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry and Rose, who backed away.

"It's a pleasure to see you two," She said calmly. "Come in and have some breakfast, you must be starving." With she led them into the burrow. The kitchen was cramped with pots and pans and other things. Yet a long table with nine chairs ran through the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley quickly sat Rose and Harry down and went to make breakfast. As she did she would send dirty looks to her sons.

"I don't blame you, dear," she assured them, tipping eight or nine sausages onto their plates. "Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to each of their plates) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country - anyone could have seen you -"

She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.

"It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred.

"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"They were starving them, Mum!" said George.

"And you!" said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting bread and buttering it for them. At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.

"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry and Rose. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye.

"Oh really, Fred?" Mrs. Weasley said as she placed her hands on her hips and shot her son a dirty look. "Should I tell them about how you've been going on about Rose since you got off the train?" Fred's entire face went red, and George and Ron laughed beneath their breaths. Harry looked confused and Rose's cheeks were pink.

The rest of the meal was over quickly and everyone returned to their rooms to sleep a bit. Harry shared a room with Ron while Rose shared with Ginny. Fred and George offering the share their room with Rose only to have their mother lecture them for an hour about properness.

Harry and Rose really enjoyed the time they spent with the Weaselys. They lived far enough from muggles that they could take out their brooms and practice quidditch.

Rose was particular fond of Ginny. Although the small ginger girl would go completely mute when around Harry, back in their room Ginny was hilarious. She would make jokes and sarcastic comments about her brothers that would have Rose howling with laughter. They would stay up all night talking, telling each other stories. Ginny told her every funny (embarrassing) story she had about her brothers while Rose told her about her year at Hogwarts.

The best part however was that after their encounter with Dobby, all of their mail started to come back to them. Rose was finally able to talk to Hermione and Draco along with her other friends like Daphne, Theo, and Blaise. Some nights, she would also reread the letters that Dobby had stolen from them. Apparently Harry had snatched it from the elf when Dobby brought it out. Her particular favorite was a funny poem that Fred had sent to her weeks ago.

A few weeks passed before it was time for Harry and Rose's birthday. Mrs. Weasely had baked them a huge chocolate cake. It was one of the most fun birthdays they had even had, and they had gotten so many gifts from all of their friends.

More time passed and they received their supply lists. They were going to travel to Diagon Alley that day by using the floo. But when Mr. Weasely handed them a flowerpot filled with a shimmery green powder, they just stared up at him.

"They've never been through the floo," Ron explained.

"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"We drove," said Harry.

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "How exactly -"

"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"

"They'll be all right, Mum," said George. "Watch us first."

He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than George, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.

"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as Fred dipped his hand into the flowerpot.

"They'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder, too.

"But, dear, if they got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"

"They wouldn't mind," Rose reassured her with an overly pleasant smile.

"Well ... all right ... Harry, you go first," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going

"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.

"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -"

"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace -"

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."

Rose could see that all Harry was looking a bit panicked as he took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.

"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed. And then he was gone. Rose frowned. She something didn't feel right.

"You next, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. Rose took a bit of the powder, threw it into the fire, and stepped in to it.

"Diagon Alley!" Rose said clearly. Suddenly she felt like she was being squeezed through a tiny hole before being thrown out.

"Gotcha ya!" The twins said as they caught Rose.

"Thanks," Rose said. Looking around she saw that standing in the middle of Diagon Alley. "Where's Harry?" The twins gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"We thought you were the first to go through," Fred said. Rose frowned. She checked her necklace. It wasn't burning, but it was pulsing with a warmth. She held it up and a direction and the pulse weakened. When she turned it to face a different alleyway, the pulse got stronger. She ran in that direction.

"Rose!" Fred called out as she began to run. She ignored him and continued to run until she reach Knockturn Alley. The emerald pendant grew warmer and began to quickly beat. She had a feeling that Harry was there somewhere. Rose was right because she ended up running into her brother.

"There you are!" Rose said as she hugged him.

"I ended up in Borgin and Burkes," Harry explained. Rose pulled away from his and gave him a smack across the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Harry asked as he rubbed his head.

"For not having the ability to say 'Diagon Alley' properly!" She replied. They then returned to the Weaselys, who were looking for them.

Their first stop was Gringotts. Rose and Harry felt so embarrassed once they visited their vault after visiting the Weasley vault. While their trust fund was a large room overflowing with gold, the Weasley vault was an equally large room with a small pile of Sickles and Knuts.

Because of it Rose demanded that she buy all of Ginny's supplies. Mrs. Weasely obvious protested since she was a proud and stubborn woman, but Rose was a proud and stubborn girl and in the end she had her way. However Mrs. Weasley insisted that she would buy her daughter's wand. Ginny was so excited when she found out that all of her supplies and robes were not second-hand. She couldn't stop thanking Rose and blushing at Harry.

While Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went off with Percy to a different store, they left the rest of the kids to explore and get their supplies. Harry took this opportunity to sneaked off to the quidditch shop and bought two more Nimbus 2000. They planned on placing one beneath Ron and Ginny's beds later that night.

Nearly done, they found themselves in Flourish and Blotts. Somehow, Hermione had appeared and joined them. They had bought all of their books and just needed to get their Defense Against the Dark Arts books.

Unfortunately it seemed like Gilderoy Lockhart was having some sort of photo shoot slash book sighing, and as soon as he had seen the twins he pulled them to him and demanded for them to be a part of the pictures. In the end, Lockhart gave both Harry and Rose a full set of his books. The twins quickly gave it to Fred and George.

"We'll buy our own," Harry said.

"He's a total git," Rose said.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Rose had no trouble recognizing. They straightened up and found themselves face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer. They stared at each other for a few moments before erupting with laughter.

"I've missed you, you loser," Rose said in an endearing tone as she hugged the youngest Malfoy. Hermione hugged him as well. Draco exchanged high fives with Ron and Harry while Fred and George ruffled his usual pristine blond hair. Ginny stood there with wide eyes, completely shocked.

"Who this?" Draco asked, gesturing to Ginny. He looked at the girl. With her red hair and freckles, it was obvious that she was another Weasley. Instead of sneering at her, which was what his father had taught him to do, Draco smiled.

"This is our little sister, Ginny," Ron said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Draco," He should her hand. Rose smiled brightly. Draco had improved so much in just over a year.

"Children where are you?" Came the voice of Mrs. Weasely. With a parting look and a wave, Draco quickly departed. Mrs. And Mr. Weasley finally made her way over to them. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."

It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder. Draco looked very uncomfortable being there.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids ... I hope they're paying you overtime?"

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books a copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. It was actually brand new since Rose had purchased for her.

"Or have you lowered yourself to begging orphans for money?" Mr. Malfoy drawled. Harry found himself holding Rose back from punching the eldest Malfoy. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Hermione. "The company you keep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower-"

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of,

"Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking,

"No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up -"

Rose went quickly to help put Ginny books back into her cauldron.

"I'm so sorry!" Draco said quickly to them before his father noticed. It wasn't until two store clerks pulled them apart did Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasely separated. As he left he threw Ginny's Transfiguration book back at her and beckon to Draco. The platinum blond boy would send them a large package to apologize the next day filled with treats.

Later that night at the burrow, Rose and Harry had to calm down Ginny and Ron who had just discovered their new Nimbus 2000's. They would later show them how to sneak them into Hogwarts without their parents ever knowing.

September 1st arrived faster than anyone expected. Rose found herself sitting with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Draco in a compartment on their way to Hogwarts. Their trip was rather uneventful (thank god) and they were at the Great Hall without any problems.

Rose and Draco sat at the Slytherin Table with the rest of the second years. Since it was the opening feast, they could not go sit next to her brother and friends and vice versa. Fortunately, Rose rather enjoyed watching the sorting, especially since she wasn't a part of it. She cheered every time they got a new Slytherin. Daphne's sister, Astoria (a small girl with the same honey blonde hair and brown eyes as her sister), joined them as one of the newest first years. Rose had also cheered rather loudly when Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor. The young ginger girl had noticed and sent the older redhead a lovely smile.

"I rather missed all the green and silver," said Rose as she laid in her bed. She was at the Slytherin second year girl's dormitory. Gwaine laid fast asleep at her feet.

"As did I," Daphne said. Once again they had their beds next to each other. All of the girls stayed up that night until midnight, chatting and catching up.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit on the long with about 6,364 words. Please Favorite, Follow, and Review!**


	8. Potions and Bludgers

**Sorry for the wait! This chapter is a bit on the short side because of the length of the last one. **

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Chapter 8: Potions and Bludgers

Classes were becoming quite pleasant. Except for Defensive Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart was a complete idiot! In their first class, he had then take a quiz all about him. Rose (who always read all of her textbooks during the summer) was unfortunately among the few who passed the stupid quiz. Transfiguration was becoming difficult. Thankfully, Rose had annoyed Harry enough to study over the summer so that it wasn't too overwhelming for him. Charms, Herbology, and Astronomy were becoming more challenging as they progressed. Rose once again completely dismissed History of Magic and decided she would draw pictures of snakes fighting a ghost instead of writing the essays for homework.

Now, it was time for Rose's favorite class: Potions. She was possibly one of the few (the only one) who appreciated Professor Snape's teaching style. She found great pleasure in working over a steaming cauldron (although it left her hair feeling very greasy afterwards). Rose was also one of the very few who excelled in the class, both in the writing and practical sense of it. Draco and Harry often said it was probably because Snape was sweet on her which was completely absurd because he wasn't (he was).

"Miss Potter, please stay after class," Snape said as everyone was preparing to leave. Rose looked up surprised. She gave Harry, who was always her potions partner (it was the only way he was going to pass the class), a reassuring look and instructed him to go. Once the class had cleared out, Rose swung her messenger bag over her shoulder and went to Snape.

"Yes, Professor?" She said.

"In my office, Miss Potter," Snape replied as opened the door to the connecting room. Taking a seat behind his desk, Severus watched Rose enter. Like her mother, Rose had put her hair up in a loose bun of vibrant red curls during potions class. She gave him a lovely smile, exposing her familiar dimples, as she same down on the chair in front of his desk. Severus swallowed hard and tried to remind himself (again) to not get distracted by her green eyes.

"Miss Potter, are you aware that you received the highest marks on your potions exam last year," Snape said. Rose nodded her head. "Are you also aware that no one has scored higher than you in over twenty years?" Rose's eyes went wide.

"No, I wasn't Professor," Rose said, a spark of curiosity appeared in her eyes.

"It's rare for a student to excel in the subject of potions in such a young age. Usually, it isn't until fourth year that students become able to fully comprehend the subject." As he spoke, Rose listened attentively.

"Well the last time a student showed such a raw talent for the subject, he was offered the opportunity to become the apprentice of the current Potions Professor," Snape explained. He was talking about himself and recalled the enthusiasm Slughorn had when he offered him the apprenticeship.

"Really?" Rose's green eyes stared in wonder at him. Such pretty eyes…

Severus clenched his teeth.

"Yes, and I hope to offer the same apprenticeship to you," Snape continued. "Should you accept, you'll be taking advance potions classes after dinner three times a week. You'll still have to attend and excel normal classes however next year you will take the class with the older students. At the end of every year, you will be given different exams from everyone else. Should you do well, you will graduate Hogwarts with a degree in Potions. With this degree you will be able to apply for another three year apprenticeship to earn a Master's degree in the subject."

"I would love to, Professor!" Rose exclaimed in excited. Without thinking, she had jumped to her feet and went to hug Snape. Snape froze.

If it was any other student in the entire castle, Snape would have yelled, pushed them away, and taken about a hundred points from their house. However this wasn't any other student. This was Rose _Lily_ Potter. Snape clenched his teeth tightly and meekly patted her back and waited for her to release him.

"You start tomorrow. Seven o'clock sharp; don't be late," He said.

"Thank you, Professor!" Rose yelled as she ran out of the office to her next class. Sighing, Snape sat back down and rubbed his temples.

During lunch, Rose was telling her friends everything.

"That sounds like more detention to me," Ron said.

"Honestly, Ron, can't you be appreciative of Rose's new opportunity?" Hermione said. "This is great, Rose. Imagine it! You'll be a Potions Masters by the age of twenty!"

"Hopefully, you won't go dressing up in all black every day," Draco said with a smirk.

"Or develop a big nose," Harry added. Every laughed at the joke.

"That reminds me," Rose said. "I need to figure out a way to prevent my hair from getting greasy." Everyone thought she was joking and started to laugh again. "No, I'm serious. Every time I preform a potion by hair getting greasy from the fumes."

"That explains Snape's hair," Ron said. Everyone became silent. That did explain a lot.

"_Professor _Snape," Hermione corrected, but Ron just rolled his eyes.

Weeks passed, and Rose found herself suited up in Quidditch clothing and with her broom in hand. She sat next to Draco as they waited for the results of the tryouts. Since the seeker and one of the chasers had graduated last year, the Slytherin Quidditch Team was in desperate search for new ones. In the middle of the tryouts, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, had appeared, delivering seven new Nimbus 2001's. It was apparently a gift from the Board of Governors, but Draco knew better.

"Urgh, that's so embarrassing!" Draco complained to Rose. He tossed his head back and covered his face with his hands. "Now, everyone's going to thing I'm trying to bride my way into the team."

"Nonsense, Draco, you're a great seeker and they'll figure that out on their own," Rose assured, not caring that her words of comfort were probably lies.

"We have the results," Marcus Flint announced as he exited the Slytherin Team's locker rooms. Everyone tensed up. "Our newest chaser is Rose Potter." Rose jumped into the air in excitement. "And our new seeker is Draco Malfoy!"

Rose smiled and hugged him. Everyone else who showed up for the tryouts groaned. How the hell did two second years manage to get onto the team? Oh right, Rose was the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived and Draco was a Malfoy.

Before they knew it, it was November and time for the first quidditch match of the year. Unfortunately a week before the entire school had been startled by a horrifying message written in read. It had said. "The chamber of secrets has been open. Enemies of the heir…Beware." Along with the message was a petrified Mrs. Norris. Fortunately a good old quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin had lifted the spirits of the school.

This time, Rose was no longer in the stands but out in the field. Unlike everyone else who accepted the Nimbus 2001 from Mr. Malfoy, Rose had chosen to stay with her Nimbus 2000 which was perfectly fine.

Unlike Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey, the other two chasers who were being demolished by bludgers, Fred and George Weasely couldn't dare send a bludger towards Rose. This gave her the perfect opportunity to retrieve the quaffle every time Angelina Johnson or Katie Bell dropped it (Marcus had placed a slippery charm on it that effected only Gryffindors) and send it soaring over Oliver Wood's head.

Suddenly, Rose noticed that the bludgers were no longer heading towards any of the chasers. Instead it seemed that both bludgers were flying at Harry at alarming rates. Rose couldn't concentrate on playing the game anymore; she was too focused of the life on her brother. He dipped and twisted around in hopes that the bludgers were go away yet they were relentless. The bludgers didn't even go anywhere near Draco, who had been tailing Harry during the entire game.

Fred and George Weasely were trying their hardest to keep the bludgers away from Harry, but it didn't help that both Slytherin beater were trying their hardest to send the bludgers towards Harry. Having enough of such nonsense, Rose dropped the quaffle, flew over to one of the Slytherin beaters, and yanked the bat from him.

"Hey!" He yelled, but it was too late because Rose had already flown away. She went besides her brother who was besides Draco as they were in the middle of a dive.

"Rose, what are you-" Harry said.

"Shut up!" Rose yelled. A bludger was heading right towards them. Using the beater's bat, she gave one strong swing and set the bludger flying up into the sky.

"Oi! Potter! You're a chaser, not a bloody beater!" Marcus Flint yelled at her. Rose rolled her eyes at the irony, and hit another bludger.

Satisfied with the result, Rose went flying back to the pitch, returning the bat, and was able to score two more times.

"CRACK!" The obnoxiously loud sound echoed through the pitch. Rose turned her head in horror as she saw that the bludger had returned and had knocked her brother off his broomstick. Without thinking, Rose zoomed towards him, making a nosebleed dive. She reached out for him, and… got him by arm!

Holding him only by his forearm, Rose gently set Harry down on the pitch.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Harry winked at her than showed her his hand. He opened it to reveal the snitch. Everyone in the Gryffindor stands cheered. But then Rose smirked as Lee Jordan's voice was heard through the pitch.

"GRYFFINDOR GETS THE SNITCH, but Slytherin still wins by ten points."

The Slytherin stands exploded with cheers.

Both teams quickly brought their broomsticks down. The Slytherins were cheering and the two beaters lifted Rose upon their shoulders. Oliver Wood went to go help Harry. However as Wood went to grip his arm, Harry let out a cry of pain. His arm was broken.

And like that Rose was by his side again, and students and professors flooded the pitch.

"I will murder who ever messed with that bludger, Harry," Rose cooed softly as she patted his face. Harry chuckled.

"It's just a broken arm, relax Rosie," Harry assured. Then something caught his eyes, and Harry appeared very worried.

"Oh, no, no, no, not you," Harry said. Rose looked up and saw what was bothering him. Lockhart was pushing through the crowd trying to get to them.

"Go away!" Rose shrieked as the blond man got close to them.

"Doesn't know what they're saying," said Lockhart loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around them. "Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."

"No!" said Harry. "I'll keep it like this, thanks."

"GO AWAY!" Rose repeated loudly. There was then a strange clicking sound.

"I don't want a photo of this, Colin," Harry said loudly to a first year Gryffindor. A sandy haired boy ignored his request and continued to talk pictures of them.

"Lie back, Harry," said Lockhart soothingly. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times -"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM," Rose yelled and pulled Harry towards her. Lockhart frowned at her, and tried again to get close to Harry.

"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" said Harry through clenched teeth. The pain of his arm was starting to get to him

"Stand back," said Lockhart, who was rolling up his jade-green sleeves.

"No - don't -" said Harry weakly, but Lockhart was twirling his wand and a second later had directed it straight at Harry's arm.

Rose stared in shock as every bone in Harry's arm disappeared.

Fred and George were barely able to hold Rose back as she lunged at Lockhart who looked terrified.

"YOU ARSE! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO! WHO WAS THE FUCKING IDIOT THAT GAVE YOU A WAND IN THE FIRST PLACE? DON'T YOU EVER THINK ABOUT EVER GETTING IN A FIVE FEET RADIUS OF MY BROTHER! I WILL RIP YOUR BONES OUT OF YOUR BODY AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHO'S THE BONELESS ONE AFTER THAT, YOU GIT!"

After her little outburst, Rose got seventy points taken away from Slytherin for threating and cursing at a teacher. None of the other Slytherins cared though because it was Lockhart after all and she had already just won a quidditch game for them. Along with that, Rose got a month of detention with Snape (who found the entire situation quite humorous, and had her doing homework for an hour).

To make matters worse, lately Rose had been hearing strange voices while walking through the hallways. At first she thought it was just coming from whispering or muttering students, but she knew better when she found herself in an empty corridor.

"_Kill!Kill!Kill!" _The voice hissed through the hallway. Covering her ears, Rose ran away from the deserted corridor,

The next day, Harry had come to see Rose (with all the bones in his arm, thank merlin). He told her that while he was at the Hospital Wing, Dobby had given him a special visit. Apparently it was because of him that the bludgers attacked Harry: another attempt to get him out of Hogwarts. However, the small elf had let it slip that he was trying to protect him from the Chamber of Secrets.

"I have a feeling that we're going to have to start researching that," Rose commented.

"But, then Dumbledore and McGonagall came in pulling in Colin Creevy," Harry said. Rose gave him a confused look. "The first year who was taking photos of me yesterday." Rose nodded her head. "He was paralyzed, Rose. Dumbledore said that he had seen something through his camera lenses that had paralyzed him. He was a muggleborn, I remember because he told me before."

"I bet it from the chamber," Rose said.

"Whatever it is, we find the heir of Slytherin and put an end to this," Harry said.

"Do we? Do we have to?" Rose groaned.

"Come on, Rose, it's not like Lockhart is gonna do so," Harry said. The two laughed. The idiot blond professor had quickly become the butt of most of their jokes.

"I'm still very worried though," Rose said. "What if one of our friends get hurt? What if the heir comes after Hermione?"

"Then we must put an end to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said, firmly.

"Alright, Hermione and I will start researching."

"Take my cloak so that you get into the restricted section," Harry said as he quickly transferred the shimmery cloak from his messenger bag to her bag.

* * *

**The chamber has been opened! And obviously Rose and Harry can't stay out of it. Please Review and Enjoy!**


	9. Parselmouthes and Dairies

**So sorry for the long wait. My Office 201o was deactivated so I had to go buy the Office 2013. But now everything is working fine. Thank you everyone who reviewed and enjoyed the story! I just want to let you know that the first year and second year are purposely shorter. The school years will get longer (as in more chapters) when I reached the summer before their third year. **

Chapter 9: Parselmouthes and Diaries

A week later, Rose found herself standing in the Great Hall on a Saturday night. Now, you may be wondering why Rose was there in the first place. The red haired Slytherin would usually be found either in the library, practicing flying at the Quidditch pitch, studying potions with Snape, or with her friends in the Gryffindor Common Room. Instead she was standing along a long podium beside Draco and the rest of the Slytherins at 'Dueling Club' (because even clubs were segregated now).

Her brother and friends had noticed the poster for the new club and dragged her along. Despite how much Rose adored preforming curses and hexes (and how well she preform them) she was not feeling so great this week.

She had barely slept since every night she would be stay up trying to find something about the chamber in the restricted section of the library. Quidditch practice, advanced potions lessons, and homework had taken up all of Rose's free time so she couldn't do her research then. The poor girl would return to her room only to find out that it was nearly dawn and would no longer be able to sleep. Rose had also gotten a head cold from her lack of sleep yet no amount of Pepper-Up potions was helping.

"Why are we here?" Rose sniffled. Her head was throbbing and every one was way too loud.

"Come on, Rose, it's the first Dueling Club in years! We had to be here," Draco said. He had a large smile on his face and looked like he was hopping. Rose just groaned. She turned her attention to Ginny who stood with the other Gryffindors across from them.

Rose was feeling extremely worried about the youngest Weasely. Ginny hadn't spoken with her (besides a 'hello' or 'hi' when they passed each other in the hall). Rose had also heard from Fred and George that ever since Colin got paralyzed, Ginny had been feeling ill and getting nightmares. Rose badly wanted to comfort the girl, but every time she tried to get close to her, Ginny would avoid her.

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" The ever annoying voice of Lockhart echoed through the room. Rose started groaning again. Lockhart ignored her but many Slytherins (and some Gryffindors) were snickering.

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works."

"Kill me, now," Rose said underneath her breath. Draco stifled a laugh.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"I hope Snape gives him brain damage. Wait, he already has that," Rose whispered. This time, Draco couldn't hold back his laugh and tried to mask it with a cough.

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"If only," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"One - two - three -"

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried:

"Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Every Slytherins began to cheer and clap (Rose was the loudest). Some people from the other houses (who disliked Lockhart just as much) were clapping as well.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see . . ."

Snape was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, "Enough demonstrating! I think we should have some students come up. Professor Snape why don't you chose one?" Snape glared at him.

"Hm, Mr. Potter! Why don't you come up," Lockhart said. It wasn't a question. Rose watched as her brother reluctantly got onto the podium. Snape scanned his Slytherins (because he wasn't going to choose a Hufflepuff) for someone suitable.

"Potter," Snape barked out. Before Rose could registered what had happened, Snape had pulled her onto the podium in one fluid motion.

Everyone gasped as they saw the two Potter twins face each other.

"Face your partners!" called Lockhart, back on the platform. "And bow!"

Harry and Rose bowed at each. Harry gave her a wink while Rose quickly stuck her tongue out at him.

"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents - only to disarm them - we don't want any accidents - one ... two ... three -"

"Rictusempra!" Harry shouted the tickling charm. The purple spell was heading right towards her, but Rose gracefully avoided it.

"Tarantallegra!" Rose shouted. Harry was much slower than his sister and the next second his legs began to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep. Harry throw another spell which Rose wasn't fast enough to avoid. It fell like someone large had pushed her and she fell backwards.

"Enough!" Snape's voice echoed. Rose felt his large hand on her shoulder as he pulled her up onto her feet.

"Finite Incantatem!" Snape pointed his wand at Harry; Harry's feet stopped dancing.

"I think we better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. As Lockhart was attempting to teach Harry a counter spell (he actually just dropped his wand), Snape spoke to Rose.

"Use this spell," Snape said. He quickly told her the name of the spell and how to wave her wand. Rose sneezed.

"Are you ill, Ms. Potter?" Snape asked. Rose could have sworn she saw some concern in his dark eyes.

"S'okay, just a cold," Rose sniffled and coughed.

"Alright let's begin!" Lockhart shouted. "Three - two - one - go!"

Rose raised her wand and bellowed:

"Serpensortia!"

The end of her wand exploded. Everyone watched (including Rose , who hadn't asked what the spell did) as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor. Rose took a step back, eyes wide, as the snake got closer to Harry.

"Don't move, Potter," said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. "I'll get rid of it."

"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward some Hufflepuff and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

_"Leave him alone!" _Both Harry and Rose hissed at the snake. The snake raised its head, turning to look at Harry then at Rose.

"_Why?" _The snake stuck out its forked tongue. Everyone in the Great Hall remained silent. You could have dropped a pin and it would have made a glass shattering sound.

_"Because you'll hurt him!"_ Harry said.

"_C'mon, and I bet he doesn't taste too good, Puffs are chewy," _Rose joked. Harry laughed. Every one gasped. Then the snake slither away from the boy and went towards Rose. She turned to look at the Hufflepuff, expecting him to look relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful - but certainly not angry and scared.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and the twins could say anything, the boy had turned and stormed out of the hall.

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at Harry and Rose in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look, and Rose didn't like it. She was also aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. Rose looked around to see everyone whispering and pointing at her and her brother. She suddenly felt like a caged animal at a zoo.

Without thinking, Rose ran out of the room and pulled Harry out with her. She didn't notice that Draco, Hermione, and Ron followed after them. Rose continued to run while holding her brother's hand until they reached an abandoned class room. Their friends quickly came bursting through the door.

"You're Parselmouthes. Why didn't you tell us?" Ron exclaimed as they entered.

"I'm a what?" Both Harry and Rose said at the same time.

"A Parselmouth!" said Draco. "You can talk to snakes!"

"We know," said Harry. "I mean, that's only the second time. We accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once."

"Long story, short it was telling us it had wanted to see Brazil and we sort of set it free without meaning to," Rose continued.

"A boa constrictor told you it wanted to see Brazil?" Ron repeated faintly.

"So?" said Harry. "I bet loads of people here can do it."

"Oh, no they can't," said Hermione. "It's not a very common gift. Harry, this is bad."

"What do you mean?" Rose was getting angry.

"We stopped that snake from taking a bite out of Justin," Harry said.

"Oh, that's what you said to it?" Draco asked.

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed.

"You guys were there! Didn't you hear us?" Harry asked.

"All we heard was you guys speaking the snake's language," Ron replied.

"And Harry, you were _laughing! _It sounded like you two we plotting with the snake. The whole thing sounded so creepy," Hermione added.

"Because Rose said a joke!" Harry said. Ron, Draco, and Hermione were looking as though someone had died. Rose couldn't see what was so terrible.

"So what if Harry and I know another language?" Rose said defensively.

"It matters," said Draco, speaking in a hushed voice, "because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."

Harry and Rose's jaws dropped.

"Exactly," said Ron. "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-grandchildren or something -"

"We're not!" Harry said. Rose didn't replied.

"You'll find that hard to prove," said Hermione. "He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be."

The next day was one of the worst days of Rose's life. News of the twins' new ability spread through the school like wildfire. Despite being known as the 'nice Slytherin,' everyone acted like her and her brother were the anti-Christ. Muggleborns avoided them like the plague except for Hermione. Even some of the Professors started to treat them differently, like they were time bombs waiting to explode.

Only Professor Snape treated both Harry and Rose normally (well Snape's usual normal). He didn't even mention it when Rose showed up for her advanced lessons. Instead, he gave her a potion.

"It should help your cold," Snape said quickly. Rose smiled and took a swing from the vial. Suddenly, her headache and clogged nose were gone.

"Thank you, Professor," She replied. She could have sworn she saw Snape smile, just for a second.

"Go on, and finish your Shrinking Solution," He instructed. Smiling, Rose returned to the third year level potion she was working on.

Besides Snape, the only other people who made the whole situation better were Fred and George. The two gingers would magically appear whenever Harry and Rose were walking down a crowded hallway. George would wrap his arm around Harry's while Fred did the same with Rose's. Together the two would shouted:

"Make way! The Heirs of Slytherin are walking through! Watch out, they bite!"

This made the situation a bit more lighthearted. It really comforted Harry and Rose to know that Fred and George found them being the heirs of Slytherin as nothing more of a joke because they obviously weren't. .

Just when Rose was starting to actually feel better, she was meant with the worst sight. It was Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, froze in the middle of the hallway. Behind him was the paralyzed form of Justin Flinch-Flechy with Harry hanging over him.

"Please wake up, please wake up," Harry kept on muttering as he shook the still form of the Hufflepuff.

"What are you doing?" Rose shrieked.

"I was just wanting to apologize for what happened, and then I found him like this!" Harry said. "I swear!" Footsteps were becoming audible.

"Come on, we have to go!" Rose said as she took a hold of her brother and dragged him away. How were they going to example themselves if someone saw them like this?

Yet regardless of this, it seemed like the entire school was convince that they were the cause of Justin's petrification. The only people who weren't mad or scared of Rose were Slytherins.

"It's good to know you're cleaning up the filth, eh Potter?" A sixth year Slytherin said as he passed her ruffling up her hair. Rose felt her eyes well up with tears of frustration. This was the last thing she wanted to have happen. Her heart went out to Harry, who must have had it worse than her since he lived in Gryffindor.

"Don't worry about him," Draco said as he wrapped a comforting arm around her. Rose smiled meekly._ 'At least Harry had Ron, Hermione, and the twins,' _Rose thought. '_And Christmas, is coming soon so the castle will be empty.'_

Christmas did come, and when it did it cleared out the entire castle. Unfortunately that also included all of their friends. Hermione's parents had heard about what happened and demanded she come home for the holidays. Draco's father had taken him away for the holidays without any explanation (not like he needed one). Mrs. Weasley had wanted all of her children back as well because apparently her eldest sons, Bill and Charlie were home. The Weasely matron had invited the twins to join, but Rose and Harry, who didn't want to intrude on their family time, politely declined.

Now curled besides her brother in his bed in Gryffindor tower, Rose regretted their decision.

They had decided that Rose would stay with Harry in the second year boy's dormitory since everyone in Gryffindor had apparently went home for the holidays.

"I'm gonna go down to the dungeons real quick," Rose said, after day two of 'Hiding out in Harry's Bed.' "I forgot something in my dorm." Harry absent mindedly nodded his head. He was too busy writing a letter to Ron.

With Gwaine at her heels, Rose quickly made her way through the castle. Although she ate a lot during each meal, Rose thanked quidditch and mostly the stairs of the castle for keeping her fit. As she was walking through the first floor, forgotten potions book in hand, Rose began to hear something.

"_Kill! Kill all mudbloods! Kill! Kill!" _The voice from before began to fill her head. Gwaine starting hissing. Rose quickly covered her ears and started to run away. She went into the first room she could find and swung the door close (making sure Gwaine was still with her). Looking around, she realized that she was in the first floor girls' bathroom.

"Oh, great," Rose groaned. This was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!

"Oh, great!" Myrtle repeated as she flew up from the floor. "Another redhead to throw another book in my toilet!"

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked. She noticed that the floor was slightly damp.

"Some girl came in here and clogged my toilet with her stupid diary!" Myrtle moaned. Rose followed the ghost as she showed her the before mentioned toilet. Curious, Rose stepped towards the toilet and pulled out a diary. It was sopping wet, but it was of good quality, being bound in black leather with metal clasps with the initials T.M.R. on it. Leaving the bathroom, Rose before quick drying charms at her feet, the diary, and at Gwaine (who was hissing about getting his paws wet).

"Weird," Rose mumbled as she flipped through the book. All of the pages were completely empty.

Suddenly Rose frowned. There was something off with this book. An aura pooled off of it like something cold…dark…evil.

Shivering, Rose made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, and threw the diary into her bag.

Months passed, the whole 'Heirs of Slytherin' thing had died out. No one was being attacked and the mandrakes to cure those who were was beginning to mature. Rose had completely forgotten about the diary which was still in her messenger bag. Ginny had seemed to have gotten out of whatever funk she was in before and now was talking with Rose again.

"But, do you think he'll ever like me?" Ginny asked the older girl as they walked through the corridor. Rose smiled.

"Just give it time, besides you have red hair," Rose assured as she patted the girl's shoulder.

"So?" Ginny asked, with a confused look on her face.

"Well it's a fact that Potter men end up marrying redheads," Rose replied with a wink. She remembered the photo album that Hagrid had given them a year ago had pictures of her father's parents and grandparents and great-grandparents. All of the Potter wives had some shade of red or ginger hair.

"Really?" Ginny smiled widely. Rose nodded her head and gave her a wink. Ginny hugged Rose and then ran off, mumbling something about getting a Valentines gift.

The next day was actually Valentine's Day. Lockhart went wild and had the entire Great Hall looking like a pink tea cozy. The blond man had also hired multiple dwarfs to appear and sing songs to different people. You could hire the small creatures to go to your crush and do so.

Rose sat eating breakfast at the Slytherin table, sneering at her pumpkin juice that had dyed pink.

"Finally the mail!" Draco exclaimed as hundreds of owls came down. A dark eagle owl came down to Draco, delivering to monthly supply of cookies and treats from his mother. This time they were all Valentine's Day themed. He always shared with Rose and the rest of the second years since there were enough treats to feed a small army. As Rose accepted a heart shaped cookie, she watched in amusement as one of Lockhart's dwarf came up to her brother.

The dwarf looked terrible dressed in a bright pink suit with fake wings and a bow and arrow. It cleared its throat.

"A Poem for Harry Potter," It said in its unattractively rough voice. Harry shrieked as the creature hopped onto his lap before jumping up onto the Gryffindor table.

"_His eyes as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

_His hair as dark as a black board._

_I wish he was mine, he's truly divine,_

_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord!" _People started to laugh and Rose sighed. Both her brother and Ginny were sporting lovely red faces.

"Look Rose, this one's for you," Daphne said as another dwarf came towards them.

"Oh, god," Rose mumbled as she saw the overly large dwarf head towards her. She quickly got up and tried to leave the Great Hall. However the dwarf noticed and jumped on top of her. She fell to the floor and watched as all of her books flew out of her messenger bag right next to the Gryffindor Table.

The dwarf cleared his throat.

"A poem for Rose Potter," It said. Rose groaned loudly and tossed her head back.

_ "Violets are blue, Grass is Green!_

_Rose Potter is he prettiest girl I've ever seen!_

_She wakes with the sun, as it gets higher, _

_But I can tell you, she's brighter!_

_It must be a plot,_

_Because before I knew it_

_My heart has been caught!"_

At the end of the poem, the dwarf pulled out a ball of glitter and threw it at her. Everyone turned to look at Rose whose face was now the same shade of dark red as her hair. Some people were clapping while others were laughing. With a groan, Rose pushed the dwarf off and quickly retrieved all her books. She hastily left the Great Hall. Draco and Daphne followed after her, laughing.

"That's _so _embarrassing," Rose groaned as she covered her face with her hands.

"Oh, c'mon, that was cute!" Daphne told her friend. "Whoever the boy is, he must really like you!"

"Or this is someone's version of a bad joke," said Draco. Rose groaned again, and Daphne shot him a glare.

…

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and leave me any comments or suggests you might have for the story! Thank You!**


	10. Chambers and Tears

**Hello, here is the tenth chamber and also the conclusion to their Second Year. From then on, I may part a bit from the original story line, but the same idea will still be there. I hope you enjoy reading it. **

Chapter 10: Chambers and Tears

"Crap," Rose mumbled as a she fell on her back. The rocks on the cave wall came tumbling down creating a barrier between Ron and the twins. They were left alone to face whatever horrors were in the Chamber of Secrets.

Now, you're all probably wondering how in the bloody hell, did Rose Potter end up on the way to the Chamber of Secrets? Well, let's start with what had happen since the last time we've seen here.

Over the course of four months much has happened.

Someone broke into the second year Slytherin girls' dormitory to dig through Rose's truck and find the diary. However before Rose could find the culprit, the next day Hermione showed up, paralyzed, at the Hospital Wing along with a Ravenclaw girl. In one hand was a mirror, and in the over was a crumbled up page from a book. The page talked about a monstrous snake called a Basilisk which could kill if you looked into its eyes or petrify someone who say the reflection of its eyes. She had also written 'pipes' on the paper. Of course, only Rose, Harry, Ron, and Draco saw this paper. They were also the only one who understood what the paper meant.

The next thing to occur was Hagrid, the groundkeeper being arrested by Cornelius Fudge for being involved with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets (but he isn't actually). Unfortunately, no one had any time to do anything about it because May had arrived which meant exams were here. The only good thing that occurred was that the Mandrakes had finally matured, un-paralyzing all of the victims just in time for their exams.

Rose had just come out from taking her potions exam with the fourth years (last exam of the year whoo), when Ron and Harry came running to her.

"Ginny!" Harry said.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Chamber of Secrets! Taken!" Ron wheezed out.

"What?" Rose asked again. The two boys grabbed her hands and dragged her away. They continued to run until they reached the third floor corridor. On the wall, written in red paint was:

"_Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever…"_

"Where could he have taken her?" Ron asked as panic entered his voice.

"We need to find the entrance," Harry said. Rose frowned. As she tried to think of where it could be. Then the idea popped into her head.

"Hermione is bloody brilliant!" She exclaimed. The two boys turned to look at her. "Remember '_pipes?' _That's how the Basilisk is traveling and what's the only bathroom that no one ever goes to?"

"Moaning Myrtle's!" The boy exclaimed. Rose nodded her head.

The three started to run to the first floor girls' bathroom. As Harry was checking the sinks and Ron was guarding the door, Rose wrote was writing two notes on scrapes on parchment. Both read:

_Ron, Harry and I are going to the chamber of secrets to save Ginny. Don't freak out! Sorry for leaving you behind, but time's a wasting!_

With a flick of her wand, both notes transformed into paper airplanes and flew off. One would go to Hermione who still in the Hospital Wing (all the victims were taking their exams there) while the other would go to Draco, who must have been somewhere in the castle.

"Found it!" Harry exclaimed. Rose rushed over to him. He showed her a sink faucet that had a snake in the form of an 'S' carved into it.

"Ready?" She asked. Harry nodded his head.

"_Open!" _Together the two spoke in parseltongue. Suddenly the sink sunk down into the floor revealing a passage way that went directly underground. Harry quickly dashed outside to pull Ron in.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered when he saw the hole.

"Who's going first?" Rose asked. Without responding, Harry jumped into the hole. Rose and Ron quickly went to the hole and watched as Harry fell. Another five minutes had passed before they heard a 'Plop!'

"It's alright guys!" Harry yelled up at them. "It's soft landing!"

"Ladies first?" Ron said sheepish, looking at Rose. She smirked at him.

"Oh, of course," Rose said and then pushed him just like she did when he tried to pull the same thing in their first year. Ron let out a scream as he fell. Smirking, Rose twisted her hair into a bun before gracefully jumping in. After a few minutes she landed on her bottom on something soft.

"You're right, it is a soft landing," Rose said to the darkness.

"That's because you landed on my back," Ron groaned from beneath her. Getting off him, Rose and Harry casted a _'Lumos' _charm (Ron couldn't since his wand still didn't agree with him).

"We must be miles under the school," Rose commented.

"Remember," Harry said quietly as they walked cautiously forward, "any sign of movement, close your eyes right away." They continued to down through the passageway. Beneath their feet, the sounds of bones crunching made their skin crawl.

"What's that?" Harry said as he shone his wand over something long and gruesome. It was the dried up skin of a giant snake.

"It looks like its skin," Rose said.

"Blimey, it sheds," Ron said.

"The adventure ends here, children!" A voice startled them. They turned around to see Lockhart standing behind him with his wand also casting a light charm. They turned and turning their wands towards him. "Expelliarmus!" Ron's wand shot out of his hand and landed in Lockhart's.

"I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body - say good-bye to your memories!" He pointed Ron's wand at them. Rose couldn't help but smirk; the idiot hadn't notice the obnoxious amount of Sellotape around Ron's hand-me-down wand.

"Oblivate!" Lockhart shouted. The spell however backfired, hitting the blond man so hard that he flew and hit the cave wall. Suddenly there was a rumbling and rocks began to fall down. Rose grabbed Harry and pulled at the same time that Harry had given Ron one mighty push.

"Crap," Rose mumbled as a she fell on her back. The rocks on the cave wall came tumbling down creating a barrier between Ron and the twins. Harry landed with a thud besides her, but he was quickly up on his feet again.

"Ron! Are you alright?" Harry yelled through the rocks. There was a moment of silence before a response was heard.

"Yeah, mate, I'm fine!" Ron yelled back. Harry and Rose let out a sigh of relief. "You and Rose go on without me! I'll try to dig a way through!"

With that Rose got up, grabbed Harry, and they went on. The tunnel turned and turned again. Every nerve in Rose's body was tingling unpleasantly, but she tried to keep a brave face for her brother's sake. And then, at last, as they crept around yet another bend, and saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

They approached.

"_Open,_ "said Harry and Rose, in a low, faint hiss. Rose felt an icy chill down her back. It was the first time she actually heard the hissing sounds they made.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Harry and Rose, shaking from head to foot, walked inside.

They was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

"Where's Ginny?" Harry whispered, voicing Rose's thoughts.

They started to walk through the chamber. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls.

Rose kept her eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following them. Then, as they drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.

It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.

"Ginny!" The two yelled as they ran towards the girl. They dropped to their knees, and Rose pulled her onto her lap.

"Don't be dead, don't be dead," Harry muttered as he checked for her pulse. "Alive." They let out a sighs of relief.

"Wake up sweetie, wake up," Rose said gently.

"She won't wake up," said a soft voice.

They jumped at the voice and turned around.

A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though they were looking at him through a misted window. He wore Slytherin robes with a shining prefect badge pinned to it. He looked barely sixteen.

Rose felt a shiver rack through her body. This boy had a familiar aura about him. It felt cold…dark…evil. Like the diary.

"Are you T.M.R.?" Rose asked, uncertainly.

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off them.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, at your service," He gave Rose a deadly grin like he was about to eat her. She found her brother's hand and gripped it tightly. "I remember you going through my pages, dear. I was quite angry when you decided not to write in me."

"What d'you mean, she won't wake up?" Harry said desperately, ignoring what he had said before. "She's not - she's not -?"

"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."

"Are you a ghost?" Harry said uncertainly.

"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Rose had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Rose wondered how it had got there.

"You've got to help me, Tom," Harry said, raising Ginny's head again. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk ... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment... Please, help me –"Rose stood up, but made no movement to help her brother who was trying to hoist Ginny up.

"What did you do to her?" Rose growled at the memory. Riddle smirked at her, and started to walk towards her. Rose tried to pull out her wand only to find it in Riddle's hand along with Harry's.

"Listen," said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny's dead weight. "We've got to go! If the basilisk comes -"

"It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly. He moved closer to Rose. She was frozen at her spot.

Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer. "What d'you mean?" he said. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it -"

Riddle's smile broadened. He placed a hand on Rose's cheek. It felt strange like a cold glove on her face. His touch froze her. Rose tried to move, but couldn't. He placed his other hand on her neck.

"You won't be needing it," he said. His voice was low yet rough. Harry glared at him.

"What are you doing? Stop touching her," Harry was yelling at this point. Riddle smirked and shot Harry a smug look before turning back to Rose.

"Why didn't write in my diary?" Riddle growled, his face moving closer to hers.

Finally being able to think again, Rose pushed Riddle's hand away and took a step back. As soon as she did, Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"We're going to talk now," said Riddle as he gave them a devilish smile, and he pocketed their wands.

The twins stared at him with matching green eyes stricken with fear.

"How did Ginny get like this?" Rose asked slowly.

"I think I asked you a question first," said Riddle pleasantly. "But it's quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginerva's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?" said Harry. Rose felt her heart drop to her stomach. She had a good idea of what Ginny's troubles were.

"The diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how her brothers tease her, " -Riddle's eyes glinted "how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her, how she wished if maybe she looked like Rose Potter maybe then the great Harry would notice her . . . ."

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left them. There was an almost hungry look in them.

"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven- year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom... I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in... It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket. "

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry's neck, and made Rose want to hide beneath her bed covers.

"If I say it myself, Harry, Rose," He said their names like they were old friends, "I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted... I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her. . ."

"What d'you mean?" said Harry, whose mouth had gone very dry.

"Haven't you guessed yet, Potter?" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.

"No," Rose whispered.

"Yes," said Riddle, calmly. "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries ... far more interesting, they became... Dear Tom," he recited, watching their horrified faces, "`I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, l can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"

"You monster," Rose sneered. Riddle's eyes flashed red and he smiled.

"Thank you, you're so kind," he said. "It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary, but she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Rose. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. But you could have imagined my disappointment when you threw me away to the bottom of your bag."

"But Ginny found me again, so I made her write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her... She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last... I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.

"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent - managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

The red gleam returned to his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how we escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort was after your time."

"Harry," Rose said quietly as she realized who was standing before them.

"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter . . . ."

He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"You see! I am the greatest wizard in the world!" Riddle exclaimed. Harry stood up, clenching his fists.

"No, you're not! Dumbledore is!" Harry yelled back. Riddle face contorted into the foulest of looks at hearing the name. Suddenly music could be heard from the background.

"Well, where's you great Dumbledore now!" Riddle spat at them.

"Besides, even if he's not here," Rose said, getting some confidence and standing up. "My brother had already defeated you twice! What makes you think he can't do it again?" She rested her hands on her hips and smirked. Riddle looked absolutely murderous.

The music was becoming loud. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, and unearthly. Then, as the music reached such a pitch, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.

A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Rose looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.

The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix," Riddle said.

"Yeah, Fawkes," Harry said.

"And that the sorting hat," Riddle pointed at the brown old hat. Then he starting laughing. "This is what the great Dumbledore sent to his defenders?" He became serious again. "_Kill them." _There was a rumbling as something was coming towards them.

"Run!" Rose shouted as she grabbed her brother, who grabbed the sorting hat, and followed after. They kept their eyes forward as they felt and heard the basilisk slithering towards them. They continued to run and run through the tunnels until they heard a roaring.

Against their better judgment, Rose and Harry turned around to see Fawkes pecking out the basilisk's eyes out. The basilisk tried blindly to bite the golden bird as it flew over its head.

_"NO!" _They heard Riddle screaming. _"LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY ARE BEHIND YOU. YOU CAN STILL SMELL THEM. KILL THEMI"_

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes. They continued to run and duck from the basilisk and its swinging tail.

"Ow, "Harry said as he put on the sorting hat. Rose looked at him to see that he had pulled out a long ruby encrusted sword. Realization dawned on Harry. Pushing Rose behind him, Harry grabbed the sword and held it with two hands.

"What are you-?" Rose couldn't finish because the basilisk's head was lunging right at them. With a leap and mighty thrust, Harry stabbed the basilisk through the roof of its mouth.

"NOO!" Riddle yelled as he saw what happened.

"Ow," Harry groaned as he slipped to the floor. Rose raced towards her collapsed brother.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked desperately. Then she saw a long basilisk fang protruding from Harry's forearm. Riddle's mocking laughter filled the chamber.

It felt like every bone in her body was on fire. Rose couldn't think, she couldn't speak. Her vision blurred and her hands began to vibrate. Her stomached churned violently and bile rose up in to her throat. Anger filled every part of her body, making her see red.

Without even realizing it, Rose had gone to the fallen basilisk and ripped a fang from its mouth. She turned back to Riddle.

"What are going to do with that?" Riddle smirked. "Kill yourself?" Rose just gave him an awful smile. With one swing, she brought the fang down, piercing the leather of the diary. It started to shriek a high pitch sound.

"YOU BIT-"Riddle screamed as he reached for his diary. But it was too late, and he disappeared before he could finish the word. Nothing was left of him except for Harry and Rose's wands that fell to the floor with a 'clack!' Scooping them up, Rose quickly returned to her brother's side. She rested his head onto her lap, and pulled out the fang from his arm. It came out with a disgusting squish sound.

"Rose," Harry said softly, looking up at her with dim green eyes. She felt hot wet tears stream down her cheeks. Sobs racked through her body.

"I love you so much," Rose cried. She shook as she stroked his face. "Y-y-you're my every t-thing. W-what am I going to do without y-y-you?" He gave her a weak smile.

"I'm sorry for not keeping my promise," Harry replied with a hoarse voice. His eyelids drooped. "For not staying alive, but I love you too, I love you so much, Rosie." With that Harry's eyes fluttered closed. Rose let out a heart aching wail, and began to sob over his body. Her heart shattered like glass and the pieces fell to the pit of her stomach, piercing her soul.

Then Fawkes reappeared, still singing his eerie song, and sat next to her. He began to cry as well. Rose looked up at the holy creature as its golden tears welled up in its eyes before falling down onto Harry's wound. She watched in amazement as his wound began to heal and seal up. As it did so, Rose felt the shards of her broken heart up heal as well. Suddenly, Harry's eyes flew open.

"Rosie?" He asked looking up at her as he sat up. "Is this heaven?" Rose smiled widely and swung her arms around him.

"No, stupid, you're still alive," Rose said as she hugged him tightly. "Still alive."

Then they heard sobbing. Turning around, they saw that Ginny had woken up and was crying into her hands.

"It was m-me, Harry - but I - I s-swear –Rose-I d- diddt mean to -," Ginny sobbed. "R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over - and - how did you kill that - that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r- remember is him coming out of the diary -"

"Shh, it's alright, everything is fine," Rose cooed as she wiped the girl's face with her robes.

"Yeah, Riddle's dead," Harry assured as he held up the punctured diary, He stuffed it into his robe pocket and tried to help Ginny up. She stumbled and fell onto him.

"I can't walk," she replied, her cheeks red.

"It's alright," Harry replied with a kind smile. He turned around and squatted down. "Hop on." Nervously, Ginny jumped onto Harry's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry stood up and hoisted the thin girl onto his back. Turning around, he looked at his sister.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Harry asked. The red-haired Slytherin was currently collecting as many basilisk fangs and skins as she could into her robes (which she had removed and turned into a pouch).

"These would be great for potions!" Rose replied with a huge grin. Harry sighed, and heard Ginny giggle softy from his back.

After leaving the chambers, Rose, Harry and Ginny found that Ron had pushed enough rocks out of the way to create a small opening for them to squeeze through. Lockhart was still there, even more useless than ever because apparently he had lost all of his memories. When they reached the gaping hole, Fawkes had been somehow able to pull them up and into the first floor bathroom. Once there, Harry and Rose resealed the chamber and went to find their professors.

They went to Professor McGonagall office to find that Dumbledore, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there.

"My baby!" Mrs. Weasely cried when she saw Ginny, who was had just gotten off of Harry's back. Mrs. Weasely hugged her daughter tightly.

"What had happened?" Mr. Weasely asked. Then Harry, Rose, and Ron went into a detailed explanation of what had happened. Rose and Harry made sure to avoid mentioning Ginny's involvement with the diary.

"How was Miss Weasely enchanted then?" Dumbledore asked. Harry pulled out the pierced diary which was still oozing a black goo.

"The diary was possessing her," Harry said.

"Well then, Mr. Weasely why don't you lead your parents and sister to the Hospital Wing," Dumbledore said. The ginger family made their way out. "Oh, and Minerva, please escort Mr. Lockhart to the Hospital Wing as well." Reluctantly Professor McGonagall took left with the blond idiot. Dumbledore stood up and then led the two to his office.

"Licorice Wands," he mumbled at a Gargoyle statue. The stature turned revealing a staircase that lifted the three to his office. "Please sit, Harry, Rose." Dumbledore sat behind his desk. The two nervous sat at the two armchairs in front of his desk. Rose shifted her pouch of fangs and skins onto her lap, wrapping a protective arm around them.

"Don't worry, Miss Potter, I will not be taking your potions ingredients away," Dumbledore chuckled with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Although, I think you should go give those to Professor Snape, now." Recognizing when she was being dismissed, Rose went to her feet. She gave her brother one last smile before leaving the office.

"Professor Snape! Professor Snape!" Rose called as she knocked repeatedly on his office door. The door swung open, revealing Snape sitting behind his desk, grading exam papers.

"Miss Potter, you're a mess!" Snape said when he noticed the state that his student was in. She was covered in dust, dirt, blood, and a strange black ooze. "What happened?"

"Harry, Ron, and I went to the Chamber of Secrets to save Ginny. So we went and Harry killed the basilisk with Gryffindor's Sword and then I killed Tom Riddle. Then I thought Harry was dying but Fawkes saved him, and then Ginny woke up. So then I saw the dead basilisk and remembered what you said before about its fangs and skins being rare potions ingredients, and well," Rose said all of this in one breath. She then sent down her robe pouch on the table and undid it, revealing the multiple fangs and scraps of thick skin. Snape's jaw dropped as he examined them.

"These are amazing," he said.

"I know, right!" Rose replied with a smile. Snape chuckled at her enthusiasm. He pulled a paper from his desk.

"Think you would also be happy to know that out of all of the fourth years, you, a second year, got the highest score," Snape said as he showed her the exam paper that had a large 'O' on it. This was prefect! Her brother and Ginny were alive, they had super rare ingredients, and she aced her exam. Smiling widely, Rose hugged her professor. Snape, who had gotten used to her need of hugging over the year, patting her gently on the back until she let go.

"Thank you, Professor!" The girl exclaimed as she ran out of the office. Snape rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly as her departing form.

As Rose made her way back to Harry, she passed Lucius Malfoy who sneered at her. The tall blond man turned back to face them with his staff swinging in his hand.

"Let us hope that Mr. Potter is always around to save the day," Lucius Malfoy said in his elegant drawl. Harry shot him a look, puffed up his chest, and grabbed Rose's hand.

"Don't worry, _we _will be," Harry said. With that Malfoy gave them one last signature sneer and walked away.

"What was that about?" Rose asked. She was honestly impressed by her brother's attitude. Defiantly a Gryffindor.

"Long story," Harry replied as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"And where's your sock?" Rose asked. Harry grinned.

"With someone who deserves it more." He replied.

"You're such a weirdo." Yet despite her words, Rose kissed Harry on the cheek. Together, they walked to the Great Hall for the end of the year feast.

**Please review, favorite, and follow. Always leave your comments. If you have questions, I'll reply back to them with answers.**

**Also at this point, I'm thinking about keeping the canon pairing of Ginny and Harry. I'm still not sure if I should keep the rest of the pairings, but I'm pretty sure Draco will ultimately end up with Astoria Greengrass like he did in the Epilogue (spoiler but not really since that's been out for 7 years now). Mainly because I like to think that the friendship between Rose and Draco will stay just that seeing as Draco was her first friend. **

**Please tell me what you think about the other pairings. Should I keep the Ron/Hermione thing? Who should Rose end up with? At first, I was thinking about Fred, but there are also other possibilities like Neville or Cedric or Charlie Weasley. **

**Harry and Rose are gonna be thirteen soon. You know what that means: crushes and kisses and dates and boyfriends and girlfriends and all that lovely stuff that all teenagers expect to happen to them. **

**Thanks a ton! And remember to review!**


	11. Villas and Bubble

**New chapter is here! I have to warn you though, that I plan and hope on elongating the years so there will be much more chapters to each school year and summer. I would also like to add that I will be moving away a bit more from the original plot line but don't worry there will still be the same result in the end. Please enjoy!**

Chapter 11: Villas and Bubble

That summer, Rose had written a very detailed letter telling the Dursleys to NOT pick them up from Kings Cross. Thankfully, this was the first time in their entire lives that their relatives had finally listened to them. Although it did help that she threatened to give their address away to all of her 'freaky' friends.

"Thank merlin," Harry said as they got into a cab. Rose smiled at her brother as the cab driver maneuvered through the busy streets of London. Their first stop was Diagon Alley. After paying the cab driver, the two entered the Leaky Cauldron. They had placed their trunks and pet carriers in a small bag with an extension charm. Hedwig was flying around overhead while Gwaine followed behind Rose.

"Good to see ya, tots," Tom greeted them as they passed through the pub.

"Hi, Tom," Both Potters greeted him at the same time. Harry pulled out his wand when they reached the brick barrier, and tapped the pattern he had seen three years ago. The bricks pulled a part creating an archway to Diagon Alley.

"Remember, first we need to exchange some money into muggle money and then we can go shopping," Rose reminded his brother. Harry was nodding his head yet he was staring at the new Firebolt in the quidditch shop window.

"Can we get-?" Harry asked pointing towards the new broomstick.

"No, Harry," Rose replied. "As much as I enjoy spending money, we must learn to do so within reason. And you already have a good broomstick."

"So you wouldn't want a new platinum cauldron though you already have a good pewter one?" Harry asked. Rose swallowed hard and stared at the pretty cauldron in the potion shop's window.

"No, I don't want it," Rose said through clenched teeth. She stared longingly at the cauldron, but knew that she had to be the one with self-control between them. If she didn't her brother would buy the entire quidditch shop.

Pulling him along, the two twins reached Gringotts. Inside of the wizarding bank, they went to the first goblin they saw.

"Hello, we're here to withdraw a bit of money," Harry said.

"Name," the goblin drawled.

"Harry and Rose Potter," Rose replied. The goblin checked something in his book before looking at them.

"Which vault?" the goblin asked. Harry and Rose looked at each other then back at the goblin.

"What do you mean which vault? Don't we have only one?" Rose asked. The goblin raised an extremely bushy eyebrow.

"Miss Potter, did you actually think your parents would have left you only one vault?" The goblin asked. Their eyes shot open. The goblin noticed their surprise and continued to speak. "Why don't I call for another consultant who can better inform you of your current assets."

"Okay?" Harry replied. The goblin called for another goblin named Griphook. Rose remembered that he was the goblin who led them to their vault for the first time.

"If you would follow me, Mr. and Ms. Potter," Griphook said. The twins followed the short creature as he led them into an office. They sat down in two armchairs while Griphook sat behind a desk with a high stool.

The two green eyes Potters waited patiently as Griphook shuffled through multiple stacks of parchment. They watched in amazement as multiple scrolls appeared and disappeared in front of the goblin. Finally, he seemed to have found what he was looking for as he unrolled a mellow colored scroll.

"Well, right here we have your inheritance that was left for you the day of your parents' partings," Griphook said.

"So the vault we usually visit is only our trust fund?" Harry asked.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter, it was left in Albus Dumbledore's possession until it was time for you two to go to Hogwarts," Griphook exclaimed.

"So what else do we have?" Rose said. The goblin cleared his throat and began to read.

"_A trust fund vault shall be disclosed to Harold James Potter and Rosalyn Lillian Potter on the day of their eleventh birthday._

_The vault of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter shall be disclosed to the before mentioned on the day of both James Charles Potter and Lillian Rosemary Evans nee Potter's deaths or incarcerations._

_The vault of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black shall be disclosed to the before mentioned on the day of Sirius Orion Black's death or incarceration._

_The ownership of the Potter Manor, Potter Villa, Potter Beach House, Potter Cottage along with other minor houses shall be disclosed to the before mentioned on the day of both James Charles Potter and Lillian Rosemary Evans nee Potter's deaths or incarcerations._

_The ownership of the Black Manor, 12 Grimmauld Place, Black Villa, Black Italian Villa, and Black Cottage, and other minor houses shall be disclosed to the before mentioned on the day of Sirius Orion Black's death or incarceration._

_The personal vaults of James Charles Potter, Lillian Rosemary Evans nee Potter, and Sirius Orion Black shall be disclosed to the before mentioned on the day of their deaths or incarcerations."_

Finally Griphook finished reading the inheritance and rolled up the scroll. Both Harry and Rose had their mouths gaping wide open.

"That's all ours?" Harry said awestruck. Griphook nodded his head.

"Wait whose Sirius Orion Black?" Rose asked. Griphook raised his own bushy eyebrow.

"That would be Mr. Potter's godfather," Griphook explained. Harry's eyes lit up.

"What happened to him?" Harry said. Rose frowned, and wondered if her brother had been listening at all.

"He was incarcerated in the wizarding prison of Azkaban for the murder of a wizard and thirteen muggles," Griphook said. This left them silent and starting at the floor. Rose recalled the image of a dark haired man who was their parents' photo album. There was a 'SB' scribbled beneath it.

"Do I have a godfather?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Yes, a Mr. Remus Lupin," the goblin said.

"Is he still alive?" Rose said. Both her and her brother's emerald eyes filled with hope.

"Yes, however his location is currently unknown." And like that all the hope evaporated from their eyes.

"Godmother?" Harry asked with a sheepish smile. Griphook checked the scroll.

"Alice Marie Longbottom, who is currently suffering from an incurable mental illness in St. Mungo's Hospital and Joanne Kathleen MacDougal who died tragically from heart disease several years ago. However both woman had given the title of heirs to other family members therefore they left nothing to you."

Harry and Rose found themselves frowning. Despite suddenly being given a fortune that could power a small country, they were left without the only thing they actually wanted.

"You were also left with titles," Griphook added. Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"Like the ones for books?" Harry asked. Rose bit back a laugh.

"No, Harry. Like official labels like being a Knight or Sir," Rose explained.

"Right, Miss Potter. You have inherited Lordships from your parents and godfather," Griphook scanned the scroll. "You Mr. Potter shall be formally addressed as Lord Potter-Black and Miss Potter shall be formally addressed as Lady Potter-Black."

"Well damn," Rose mumbled. She was a Lady! And her brother was a freaking _Lord! _Then a thought struck Rose. "Wait, is there a different between being a Lady or a Lord? Like power wise?" She would be damned if she let her gender get in the way of receiving a powerful title. She was still a Slytherin after all.

"No need to worry, Miss Potter," Griphook said. "Both titles hold equal power." Rose nodded her head in approval.

"Mr. Griphook, could I request something?" Rose asked.

"Yes?"

"Could we make sure that no one _else _has any access to any of our vaults without or permission?" The goblin smirked, revealing his sharp teeth.

"Of course, Ms. Potter, that would be a wise choice," said Griphook.

An hour later, Harry and Rose left the bank with their bag heavy with galleons and muggle notes.

"So now can we get the Firebolt?" Harry pleaded. Rose rolled her eyes and guided him out of Diagon Alley.

Another cab ride later, Rose and Harry found themselves at one of the best hotels in London. They made their way to the front desk, looking so terribly out of place in the five star with their oversized clothing.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Rose said when she reached the front desk.

"Yes, dear, are you two looking for your parents?" The lady replied. The lady wore a uniformed blue jacket with her blonde hair pulled back tightly into a bun.

"No," Harry replied bluntly. The lady gave them a look and pursed her thin lips. It reminded them of Professor McGonagall when someone interrupted her.

"We want to know how much it would cost to stay in a suite," Rose replied. The lady clicked away at her computer before turning back to them.

"Two hundred fifty pounds a night," she replied. "However, I can't sell you the suite unless you're with your parents." Rose smiled and turned to look at her brother. Harry shrugged. Rose smirked and began to dig into her pockets. She pulled out a thick stack of bills wrapped in a band.

"Here is a ten thousand pounds," Rose said as she placed the money on the desk. "Take however much it costs to stay for a month, and then take whatever it left." The lady stared at them with wide eyes. She went to type in her computer. After a moment, she pulled out two key cards.

"Room 394," The lady said as she handed them the cards. "Enjoy your stay!"

"Was the bribery necessary?" Harry asked as they entered the hotel's lift.

"Yes, very much," Rose replied with a grin. The elevator dinged when they reached the fifth floor. Together they had their way to the end of the hallway to room twenty-one. They entered the room to find that the suite had a small living room with a balcony and kitchenette. There were two rooms with connecting bathrooms.

"I can't wait to go shopping and sightseeing!" Rose exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

"I can't wait to sleep!" said Harry as he jumped onto the living room couch. He picked up the room's telephone and the menu besides it. "We can call room service right?" Rose laughed.

Two weeks later, the two were coming out of a sandwich shop eating their sandwiches. They were dressed in their new clothing. Harry wore a blue t-shirt that actually fit him with a pair of denim shorts and grey converse. Rose wore a yellow tank top with khaki short shorts and flip flops.

"I still think Slytherin should have won the quidditch cup this year," Rose said.

"No, Gryffindor," Harry said after taking a bite of his sub. Rose gave him a look.

"Did you forget which house won the first game of the year?" She said.

"Who won the next one?" he replied with a grin.

"Well, can we at least agree that Ravenclaw should have not won?" said Rose. Harry nodded his head.

"If we hadn't had to forfeit the last game because of the whole chamber thing, Gryffindor would have won," he added. Before Rose could respond, a faint whimpering interrupted them.

"Did you hear that?" Rose asked. Slowly, they made their way to the alley where the sounds were coming from.

"Yeah, stay back, Rose," Harry said as he instinctively pushed Rose behind him. She frowned.

"I can take care of myself, Harry." She then walked down the alley way.

"Rose!" Harry called out for her. He went to reach out for his sister when suddenly a large black dog jumped out in front of them. Harry grabbed Rose and pulled her behind him. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the dog.

"Harry! Put your wand back!" Rose exclaimed. She pushed her brother away and kneeled down besides the dog. "It's just a poor little puppy!" She began to pet the canine. The dog wagged his tail and panted.

"A puppy? That thing is twice your size! " Harry said. Rose ignored him and fed the dog the rest of her sandwich. The dog gobbled up the sandwich in one bite.

"Can we keep him?" Rose asked looking at her brother. Harry stared at her for a moment before rubbing his temples.

"We already have an owl and cat," Harry said.

"So?" Rose replied as she brought the dog closer to herself. The dog licked her cheek.

"What are we going to do with it when we go to Hogwarts?" He asked her.

"We'll sneak him in, like we did with our broomsticks in first year."

"There's a huge difference between two broomsticks and a large living dog!" Rose started to pouted. She gave her brother the biggest puppy dog eyes. The dog had apparently noticed this and gave the same look with his large grey eyes.

"Fine," Harry sighed. Rose jumped up and hugged him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Rose said. She then went to the dog and hugged him tightly. "I'm gonna love you and take care of you forever!" The dog barked something that sounded like an agreement and licked Rose again.

Before they returned to their hotel suite, Rose insisted to go shopping for her new dog. She dragged her brother along to a pet grooming center and got the dog's coat washed and trimmed. They had bought multiple dog collars and toys and beds. Rose also bought a large bag of dog food.

"Here, we are!" Rose said as she welcomed the dog into their suite. "This where we've been staying for the past weeks since we're not going back to our horrid uncle and aunt."

"Rose I don't think he understand you," Harry said as he came in after in.

"Nonsense," Rose replied. "He's a smart dog. Aren't you, boy?" She pet and rubbed his head. The dog barked in agreement.

"What are you going to name him?" Harry asked. Rose pulled out a black leather collar with a blue tag on it.

"Lancelot," Rose replied showing Harry the name engraved in the tag.

"So you're gonna stick with the whole Knights of the Round Table theme," Harry commented. He couldn't help but smile at his sister. She looked so happy.

"For all of my babies," Rose cooed at the dog. Lancelot licked her nose.

More time flew by for the green eyed twins. They went shopping and ate out every night, loving the London life. Lancelot quickly became a big part of their life (being a big dog after all). They would take him out to parks and run and play with him. Something they've learned about the dog was that he only ate human food. At night the large dog alternated between sleeping on Harry's bed or Rose's bed (although he took up most of the space). During the day he follow Rose around who would constantly talk to him. She told him about their lives before Hogwarts, their lives during Hogwarts, and everything in between. Lancelot listened so attentively and barked at the right times that Rose was convinced that he understood everything he heard.

They exchanged letters between their friends. The Weasleys had won money from the Ministry because of Arthur's job. So they were currently vacationing in Egypt where Bill, the eldest son, lived and worked. Hermione told them that her parents had taken her to France. Draco's father had become so mad about the whole freeing Dobby incident that his mother decided to take them all to their vacation home in the Caribbean to calm down.

"Harry, we should travel somewhere," Rose said one day. She had just read a new letter from Hermione describing Paris in great detail.

"Why?" Harry asked. He was currently playing a game of exploding snap with Lancelot because that dog was just that smart.

"Because we're young and haven't seen the world and we defiantly have the money and time to do so," Rose said. She sighed and imagined how it would be like to sit on an exotic beach while she sipped some strange drink.

"How do we go?" Harry asked turning to face her from the couch. "Do we like use floo powder and just say the country?"

"No, with a muggle airplane," said Rose. Lancelot walked over and rested his head on her lap. "Where should we go?"

"France?" Harry suggested. Lancelot growled.

"Guess that's a no," Rose laughed. "How about Spain?" Lancelot growled again.

"Italy?" Harry suggested. Lancelot barked and gave them a doing smile. The twins laughed.

"Didn't we inherit a Villa there?" Harry asked, trying to recall their inheritance.

"Yeah, you're right, it's the Black one," Rose agreed. Lancelot let out a whimper at the name. "I'll send a letter to Griphook asking for the address for the Villa. Then we'll buy the tickets when we get to the airport but before that we have to do more shopping." Harry and Lancelot groaned.

A week later, Rose and Harry were walking into London International Airport with Lancelot on a leash. The two were pulling along their suitcases towards the ticket purchasing counter.

"Four first class tickets for Italy, please," Harry said. The man behind the counter gave them a look.

"Are you two here with your parents?" asked the man.

"No, they died twelve years ago," Rose replied, rolling her eyes. The man gave those two a strange look before leaning over the counter to look at their dog. He frowned.

"Then why do you need the two extra tickets for," he asked.

"For Lancelot!" The twins said, pointing at their dog. The man's eye twitched.

"Are you aware that it will cost about three thousand euros?" Harry pulled out another stack of bills.

"Will this cover it?" Harry asked. Rose smirked and stifled a laugh. The man's jaw dropped at the sight of all of the money.

An hour later, they were sitting in first class seats about to take off to Rome. Lancelot was stretched comfortably across his two seats, enjoying the space. Besides themselves there was another older couple that kept sneering at their dog.

"First we have to go see all of the landmarks and sights," Rose mumbled. Her eyelids dropped. She rested her head on Harry's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her.

"Do you think that Italy has a wizarding world?" Harry asked. Rose shrugged, but Lancelot gave them a bark of affirmation.

"Shut your bloody dog up!" the old lady snapped at them. Rose pulled out of her brother's embrace, turned to the woman, and gave her the middle finger.

A few hours later they found themselves sitting in a taxi cab. They were driving to the address of the villa that Griphook had provided for them. The driver was a bit reluctant to take the two children seeing as they had given them a particular odd address. According to his GPS these British kids were taking his to the middle of nowhere. And the enormous black dog was really freaking him out. It reminded him of the Grim omen that his grandmother would tell him about as a child. Then there was the black cat with green eyes. Wasn't that another dark omen? And why did they have an owl?

"Stop right here!" The short red haired girl called out. The driver furrowed his eyebrows in confused. What was she talking about? All he could see was rows and rows of trees. He hoped he had just misunderstood them since he was poor with English. He was about to say something, but the dark hair boy placed a thick stack of bills next to him.

"Hope that covers it," the boy said. The driver's eye dropped. That was enough money to pay for his daughter's school tuition for six months! He quickly got out and helped the children with their luggage, staying clear of the huge dog.

"Need drive to place? Call anytime!" He said in his thick Italian accent as he gave them his card. If these kids continued to pay like they did, his children would be set for life. The girl accepted his card while the boy got a hold of their bags.

"Grazie, ciao," She responded. With her hand on holding the leash of the dog and the boy dragging along two suitcases. The cat sat leisurely on the dog's back while the girl held the cage of the owl with her other hand. He watched as the two walked into the rows of trees and continued to walk until they disappeared from his vision. With a sigh, he returned to his cab and drove away.

While the muggle driver had seen only rows of trees, the two magical children had seen something else.

High clay walls acted like fences around the entire estate. Rows and rows of grapevines stood tall for what seemed like miles. They led to a manicured hill where a large four story cream colored house with orange roof titles. On the side of hill was a large lake with clear blue water.

"Whoa," both Harry and Rose let out. The villa was breathtaking.

Together they made their way to the villa entrance. Harry let Hedwig go and fly on her own. Despite years of quidditch practice and running up and down the Hogwarts staircases, the two found themselves out of breath when they finally got to the top of the hill. Even Lancelot was panting loudly. Gwaine was perfectly comfortable as he peered from behind Lancelot's head.

In front of them were two large dark wooden doors. There were no handles or keyholes on the door.

"How do we get in?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Griphook didn't send a key," Rose replied. Lancelot's ears perked up. He started to bark.

"What's wrong, baby?" Rose cooed at the black dog. Harry grimaced. There was something wrong with having his sister calling Lancelot 'baby.'

Lancelot barked again. He used his nose to poke Rose's hand then Harry's hand. Then he walked over to the door and poked the door.

"What does he want us to do?" Harry wondered. "Touch the door?"

"Well it does belong to wizards," Rose replied. They shrugged and together, placed their palms onto the wood. As soon as they did, blue sparks seeped out of their hands and spread through the doors. Then they swung opened. As it did, Hedwig flew through and landed on Harry's shoulder.

"Good boy!" Rose said as she petted Lancelot. "Isn't he brilliant?" Harry chuckled and ushered his sister inside before her sister forgot what they were here for.

CRACK!

The sound surprised the two causing them to drop what was in their hands. A house elf appeared in front of them. It was a tiny creature with wide purple eyes and extremely long eyelashes. The little elf was wearing a toga made of a yellow towel. There was a small crest on it that they couldn't really make out. It threw itself to their feet.

"Masters! Bubble is waiting for masters for so long!" The elf cried.

"You can stand up, it's alright," Rose said as she helped the elf up.

"Oh my! Lady Black is too kind!" Bubble wailed, her large violet eyes filling with tears. "More nicer than the last Lady Black." The elf was crying at this point as she jumped up and down.

"It's alright," Harry said. He pulled off the blue plaid shirt he wore over his blue t-shirt (Rose regretted allowing him to shop for himself). He went to hand it to Bubble. "Here you can be free now."

Then the little elf started to cry harder. She threw herself at Harry's feet.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T FREE BUBBLE! BUBBLE IS VERY SORRY FOR WHAT SHE'S DID! PLEASE FORGIVE BUBBLE LET BUBBLE TAKE CARE OF LORD AND LADY!" Bubble howled. Harry looked very distressed and didn't know what to do. Rose quickly went and pulled the elf to her feet.

"Oh, no, please stop crying, Bubble we won't free you if you don't want to," Rose said as she brought the elf into her arms. Bubble began to tear up again as she hugged her mistress.

"Lady Black is so nice! Lady Black is hugging Bubble! Bubble is so grateful!" Bubble continued to babble on.

"Why don't you want to be free?" Harry asked as his eyebrows furrowed together. This was strange. Didn't house elves want to be free? Well, he only ever met Dobby before and he had wanted to be free from the Malfoys.

"Lord Black, house elves never want to free of their masters. Their masters let feel whole and needed. And some elves bind to their masters and say with their masters until they die," Bubble explained. She was still holding on tightly to Rose.

"But Dobby?" Harry said.

"Have you met Lucius Malfoy?" Rose said. "He treats his own son badly; imagine how he treats his servants." Then she turned to Bubble. "Have you ever bonded to a master before, Bubble?" The house elf nodded her head quickly.

"Bubble is bonded to the Lady Black, but she died," Bubble explained but then her eyes lit up. "Can Bubble bind to the new Lady Black?"

"Of course, dear," Rose said as she hugged the elf again. She simply adored the tiny creature with her cute purple eyes.

"Will Lord Black's elf be coming, Mistress?" Bubbled asked.

"I don't have an elf," Harry said. "And you can call me Harry, just Harry."

"But Lord Harry Just Harry," Rose stifled a laugh and Harry sighed "You is bonded to an elf too."

"Who?" Harry asked. Rose groaned if they kept going at this pace, they would be in the entrance hall all night.

"Okay, she's talking about Dobby, obviously, who is the only elf you've ever met. He must have bonded to you some time throughout the year, probably when you freed him," Rose said. "So why don't you go call Dobby and figure that out. I, on the other hand, am extremely tired from a three hour flight and a two hour drive." She turned to Bubble. "Bubble, please show me, Lancelot, and Gwaine to my room so that I can sleep."

With that, Bubble led Rose up four flights of stairs while Harry figured his life out downstairs. Lancelot followed behind them with Gwaine laying on his back. Bubble levitated her bag above her head. They reached the fourth floor that had only two doors in the hallway. Each door was twelve feet tall and reached the high ceiling. One of the doors was a deep emerald with silver carvings and had silver snakes as door handles. The other door was a deep blue, nearly black, with silver stars.

"What's up with the doors?" Rose asked Bubble.

"The Black family is a Slytherin family," Bubble said. "And is tradition to have names from stars." Lancelot barked. He walked over to the blue door and rubbed his head against it.

"No, doll, I'll leave that room for Harry. Besides this room feels like the Slytherin dormitories," Rose said. Lancelot growled a word 'Slytherin,' but reluctantly followed Rose into the room. The room reminded Rose of the Slytherin common room with emerald tapestry covering the walls and dark carpets. A large ebony bed with silver silk sheets sat in the center of the room with matching furniture. There was a balcony was attached to the room with a huge attached bathroom.

"I love this room," Rose said as she jumped onto the bed. Whether or not it was possible for dogs, Lancelot rolled his eyes.

"Mistress, would you like Bubble to run you a bath?" the little elf squeaked.

"Yes, thank you," Rose mumbled, but it was too late. She had already sunk into the bed and drifted off to sleep. Sighing, Lancelot hopped onto the bed and made himself comfortable at the feet of her bed.

He truly wondered what had happened to make James and Lily Potters' daughter a Slytherin. A part of him blamed that Malfoy boy that she kept talking to. He must have poisoned her mind with thoughts of the Serpents House before the sorting. And poor Rose kept on talking about Snape like he was something great. He felt himself puffing out a breath at the thought of his niece fawning over Snivellus. It was almost as bad as when Lily was hung up on that greasy git in their first few years in Hogwarts.

His godson on the other hand looked nearly exactly like his father although he did remember James being a bit bigger at that age. He was defiantly the Gryffindor son that James had always wanted. Despite that, there were times when Harry reminded him or Lily. Especially when he laughed. Yeah, when Harry laughed he was defiantly his mother.

Regardless of all of that, he still loved the two children to death.

Lancelot head perked up when he heard the house elf reenter the room. Bubble tip toed over Rose and gently tapped her shoulder.

"Mistress," She whispered trying to wake up the girl. Lancelot rolled his eyes and walked over to Rose. He placed his head beneath her shoulder and pushed her off the bed. Bubble was quickly enough to move out of her way and tried to help her up.

"Wha?" Rose groaned as she got up. She rubbed her head and tried to smooth out her hair.

"You're bath is prepared, and Lord Harry Just Harry's elf is helping him into his room," Bubble squeaked.

"Really? So Dobby is here?" Rose asked as she stood up. Bubble nodded his head. She began to pull off her clothes, and Lancelot quickly covered his eyes with his paws. Once he heard the bathroom door close and shut, he uncovered his eyes. Rolling around again until he was comfortable, he curled into the bed and drifted off to sleep.

**Please review! Leave me your thoughts and ideas!**


	12. Clothes and Dogfathers

**Hello again! Here's another chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who review in the last chapters. There were those with interesting questions and comments that I was more than happy to reply to. **

**Bear in mind that things may seem a certain way now, but that doesn't mean that it's gonna last. I don't want to spoil anything, but just wait and everything will be explained or certain things will happen that pertain to now that may be different or expanded on in like three chapters from now.**

**By the way, school is starting soon which means airplanes and flying and go up north and my mom crying and schoolwork so uploads may slow down. But I have chapter 13 done already and I'm halfway through with 14 so cross your fingers!**

**Sorry for any spelling errors! I've proof read this 3 times and spell check can only do so much.**

**Anyway, Enjoy! **

Chapter 12: Clothes and Dogfathers

Fast forward to a week later! The twins had absolutely loved Italy. Every day they call the cab driver from earlier and go to see something new like the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Trevi Fountains. Despite only being there for a week, Rose had already done a lot of shopping (much to Harry's discomfort). They also ate so much of the local food: pizza, pasta, ravioli, and cannolis.

After six days, Harry felt exhausted. Where the bloody hell did Rose get the energy to get up at dawn and go out again?

The Black Villa also added a lot to their experience of Italy. The house itself was literally magical and practically ran itself. There was apparently a group of Italian wizard workers who visited the Villa weekly to collect grapes from the grapevines to make wine. According to Bubble, they would have payment sent over to Black vault. Apparently that was one of the _many _forms of constant revenue for the Black family.

The lake on the side of the hill also acted as a pool with self-cleaning charms around it. A few magical creatures resided in the body of water. Harry and Rose would nearly every night zooming over that lake with their broomsticks with practice snitches, quaffles, and bludgers (they were cushioned) flying around. They would end the night when one of the practice bludgers would knock them into the lake.

Bubble and Dobby (who simply adored the tiny purple eyed elf) took care of Harry and Rose better than they could. Dobby was completely willingly to serve Harry, but he wouldn't allow the elf to work unless he paid him. After offering to pay Dobby seven galleons a day and Dobby sobbing for nearly an hour, they finally decided to pay him a sickle per month. Dobby also could be seen walking around the Villa dressed in multi-colored sweaters and at least fifteen socks at a time.

Rose wondered how she ever managed without Bubble. The elf was skilled in all different types of beauty magic from having served multiple different mistresses. Rose's skin near looked clearer and her nails were never looked this cute before. No wonder Daphne and the rest of the girls in Slytherin house always looked so polished and fake!

One day, Rose and Harry were on their way to Milan to visit the largest shopping mall in Italy. They sat in the Ricardo's cab, the driver from the beginning. Rose was convinced that the only reason the man put up with their whims and desires was because of the way Harry paid him. Her brother had become accustomed to simply paying with stacks of bills without even counting them out. Only the kindest of shopkeepers had the decency to try to return his change. Harry was single handedly putting Ricardo's children through college.

"This mall has like two hundred stores, Harry, isn't it great?" Rose said as they left the taxi. Harry groaned and absentmindedly handed Riccardo another thick stack of bill. They had left Lancelot at home with Dobby and Bubble. The man assured him that he would return in about six hours and drove away.

"Why do we have to do this, Rosie? Don't we have enough clothes already?" Harry grumbled. Rose laughed and swung her arm around his shoulder.

"Nonsense, love. There's no such thing as too much stuff, and besides we said that we're gonna get things for our lot," Rose said. They planned to get gifts for their friends back in Britain. Harry nodded his head limply and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I'd rather go skinny dipping with Crabbe and Goyle," Harry replied. Rose snorted and covered her mouth as she laughed.

"C'mon, Gryffindor, be brave," Rose mocked as she pulled him into the first store.

Hours passed and Harry was prepared to kill himself and save Voldemort the trouble. He loved his sister dearly and would give his life for her (he had nearly done so multiple times before), but there was nothing he disliked more than shopping. Why would anyone ever want to run around a huge building with heavy bags only to get into a store and stay in it for an eternity and then repeat? His arms were sore and his feet were hurting.

Harry remembered when Aunt Petunia would drag them around in the shopping center in Little Whingings. The woman would only bring them along to treat them like pack mulls with her bags. After years of that, Harry could figure out for the life of him why Rose still enjoyed the activity.

Finally, Rose had relented and allowed Harry to relax in a seating area with their bags.

Rose had never been allowed to go shopping before. As a child, she would be seen wearing either Dudley's or Aunt Petunia's hand me downs. Whenever her aunt dragged her along to the clothing store, she would never be allowed to touch or get anything. If she even asked for even a hair tie, Aunt Petunia would give her a nice hard smack across the face or pinch her arm until she got a lovely bruise.

She would go to primary school and see all the little girls dressed in cute dresses with their hair in pigtails. Rose would watch with envy as her classmate would be dropped off to class with her mother. The girl's mum would straighten out her daughter's clothing and give her a kiss on her cheek. She longed so desperately to have a mother to coddle her and to talk her and to actually like her.

Rose was six years old when she asked Aunt Petunia if she could braid her hair. Her hopes went up when the horse-like woman picked up a hair brush. However, Petunia used that brush to whack Rose. Rose went screaming and running from her aunt, only to have the woman grabbed her and continue to hit her.

From that moment on, Rose never asked Aunt Petunia to do anything for her.

It hurt though, going to school every day dressed in rags. The girls were relentless and teased and tormented her constantly. While Harry was worried about Dudley and his gang beating him up, Rose was had their female counterparts to look out for. But instead of fists and kicks, Rose receives insults and petty actions.

Girls would purposely rip her clothing which would cause Aunt Petunia to smack her around when she got home. 'Ugly Weirdo' and 'Orphan girl' were her most popular school yard nicknames. It also didn't help that Harry and Rose showed up in preschool thinking that their names were Freak Boy and Freak Girl. Jessica Vane and Stephanie Thomas had threw gum in her hair. Her aunt was more that willingly to take a pair of shears and cut all her hair off. It wasn't until the next morning when all her hair magically grew back and Jessica and Stephanie were all stunned that Rose finally felt a bit better.

The constant bullying had resulted in one thing. It had filled her with anger and resentment. She hated feeling inferior to anyone else. She hated having to compromise her anything for herself and her brother. She hate seeing Harry being bullied as well. Rose would often stand up for him by yelling or even throwing things at Dudley and his gang. Of course this resulted in Dudley crying to his mother and Aunt Petunia taking out her wooden spoon and hairbrush.

But out of all of it, Rose hated dressing in the hand-me-downs. The horrid rags had caused her torment. So she couldn't care less if she spent a freaking fortune on clothes. She was going to buy as much clothing for herself and Harry until she exploded.

Hours passed and Rose had acquired enough clothing to cover both her and Harry for a decade.

She walked with a bounce in her step to her brother. Harry was fast asleep on a cushion, surrounded by multiple shopping bags. She nudged his leg gently with her foot.

"Bro, wake up," Rose said. Harry groaned and opened his eyes.

"Are we done shopping yet," he grumbled. Rose rolled her eyes and stretch out her hand. Harry accepted it and stood up.

"Not even close," Rose laughed. Harry groaned and scooped up the bags and followed his sister through the store. What he would do if he could use a feather light charm.

The next store they went to was a female clothing store. Harry stood impatiently while Rose searched through clothing.

"What would Hermione like?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. She usually wears jumpers and jeans," Harry replied. He sat down at an available cushion and set all the bags down.

"Yes, but I think the time has come to diverge from all of those frumpy sweaters," Rose replied. She held up a light blue skirt. "What do you think?" Harry shrugged.

"Don't know. 'Mione doesn't really wear skirts," Harry responded. Rose groaned. Why was she asking him about this?

"I think she'll like it," Rose said. She picked up a top. "Oh, and Ginny would look so cute in this."

"Sure, sure," Harry said. Rose rolled her eyes but didn't allow herself to be discouraged.

By the time she was done, she had gotten large amount of clothing for both Ginny and Hermione. Rose couldn't wait to drag her friends away and dressed them up like little dolls she never had.

"Now, we get gifts for Ron, Draco, and Fred and George," Harry said as the exited the store. He led his sister somewhere in the mall and then stopped. He looked around and then looked sheepishly at his sister.

"You have no idea where to go, do you?" Rose said with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe," Harry responded. Rose rolled her eyes and dragged her brother to a male's clothing shop. She began to rummage through, pulling out pairs of jeans and shirts and sweaters.

"We'll get clothing for the Weasley boys," Rose said. "And then we'll get Draco something else since he doesn't really need new clothing." Harry nodded his head in agreement and allowed his sister to shop. Occasionally, he'll say whether or not he thought something looked good and Rose would listen to him.

The next store they went to was a bookstore. Rose went and got two copies of '_How It Works' _along with a few other books. She planned to give one to Mr. Weasley and the other to Draco.

"Draco is actually taking the Muggle Studies class," Rose stated proudly.

"No bloody way," Harry replied. "Does his father know?"

"Nope, he told his father that he's taking Divination," Rose responded. "He even went and asked Professor Burbage to send all of his grades under the subject of Divination. Apparently a lot of different students make that request."

"That's actually really cool. Ron and I are going to do Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," Harry said. "What did you say you were taking?"

"Well, Professor Snape says that I have to keep taking at least Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, DADA, Herbology, and obviously Potions in order to get my degree. He also said that I have to take Care of Magical Creatures," said Rose. She scrunched up her face in concentration. "I think that I put down either Ancient Runes or Arithmancy. I'm not sure."

"I heard Hermione's gonna do all twelve classes," Harry told her.

"She's bloody crazy! How the hell is she gonna be able to do that?" Rose exclaimed. Harry shrugged.

"You know how 'Mione is, she can overdo it sometimes," Harry said.

"She should at least drop Muggle Studies, like that's not even necessary," Rose said. Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"Maybe she'll get a time machine," Harry grinned. Rose laughed.

Later that night in the Villa, Lancelot got up from his place on Rose's bed. After their long day of shopping, Harry had come in to help carry his sister's bags. Once they were both done shoving the clothes in Rose's closest, they have promptly collapsed on the bed.

He turned to look at them. Harry laid deeply asleep with his mouth wide open and his arm hanging off of the bed. Lancelot stifled a whimper. With his eyes closed, Harry looked so much like James. He recalled the nights in third year that they would stay up, talking about girls, classes, and teachers. Suddenly the image of James's dead body flashed into his head. This time Lancelot did whimper.

At the sound, Rose rolled over in bed. The girl usually slept with her face completely submerged into her pillow; it was a wonder that she could even breathe. Now with her face up, he could see her dimples and button nose. She was a replica of Lily. The only difference between were their personalities. He tried hard to push away the image of Lily's corpse.

Lancelot made his way to the room's bathroom. It was about the size of a normal room except, covered in marble. A large bathtub was engraved in the ground with a shower in the corner. A sink and toilet sat parallel. He closed the door with his tail then stood in front of the mirror.

In an instant, the reflection of the large black dog was replaced by the naked form of a man. The man was shoulder length black hair that was washed and trimmed because of how well Rose kept Lancelot groomed. He had sharp, handsome features with grey eyes. Yet those eyes were no longer filled with life and mischief as they were twelve year ago. He was barely thirty-three and yet he looked so much older and younger at the same time. His chest was covered in multiple prison tattoos. Skin that was once brown because of dirt and muck was now a pale white. Fortunately, he no longer looked like he was all skin and bones. He actually looked healthy and filled out thanks to how much his pups cared for him. He looked up at his reflection again.

This man staring back at him was Sirius Black. Convicted Criminal. Former Auror. Currently wanted dead or alive by the British Ministry of Magic. He was the best friend of James and Lily Potter. He is the godfather of Harry Potter. And he was wrongly convicted for a crime that he never did.

Sirius stepped into the shower. Turning the knobs, hot water pumped out of the shower head. He sighed.

Twelve years ago, Sirius Black got off his motorcycle at Godric Hallow. He was checking up on his closest friends and their children. Instead of the lovely cottage where the Potters lived, he found a charred house. Running in, Sirius collapsed at the sight of James Potter dead on the floor. He dropped to his feet and pulled his friend close to him. Sobs racked his body as he repeatedly whispered:

"Prongs, no, please, no, prongs, James, please don't be dead, stop being dead. Please, oh fucking merlin, stop being dead."

After a while Sirius got up, remembering about Lily and the pups. He ran upstairs to the nursery. Inside was Lily Potter sprawled out on the floor besides her children's cribs. Harry and Rose Potter sat crying loudly at their mother's fallen form.

Sirius thought he was going to be sick. The only thing keeping him standing was the fact that the pups were still alive. He walked over to them. He picked up Rose and placed a kiss on her forehead. He did the same to Harry, but noticed something. A lightning shaped scar.

Sadness and misery was quickly replaced by anger. He placed the children back into their crib. Running out of the house, Sirius passed by Hagrid.

"Sirius Black? What are you doing here?" Hagrid asked. Sirius ignored him and apparated away, leaving his motorcycle behind.

Sirius would regret the next actions for the rest of his life. Instead of staying with the children like he should have, he had gone after the one who betrayed their parents. Peter Pettigrew. Then the stupid rat landed him in Azkaban for the rest of his life.

Over a month ago, Sirius had seen that the Daily Prophet had a picture of a large ginger family. The Weasleys. But what was the most important was the fact that on one of the boys had a grey rat on his shoulder. The rat was missing its index finger of its right paw.

With the knowledge that Peter was still alive, Sirius escaped out of Azkaban with the goal to finally kill that rat. However while he was in London, he had found his pups again!

At first, Sirius thought that his mind was playing tricks with him because they looked so much like younger versions of Lily and James. But then they starting speaking about Hogwarts and quidditch and houses, and he knew it was them.

Sirius turned off the water and got out of the shower. He wrapped a long towel around his waist and put a towel onto of his wet hair. Quietly, he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Shit," He mumbled when he was saw that the sun had come up.

"Who the hell are you?" Rose yelled. She was standing on top of the bed with her day clothes still on. She had her wand pointing at him.

"Okay, just calm down and put the wand away," Sirius said as he put his hands up.

"How did you get in here? Where's my dog?" Rose was screaming at this point. Harry rolled around in his sleep, finally waking up.

"Wha-?" He groaned as he got up. He saw Sirius and jumped to his feet. "Who the hell are you?"

"Please, just calm down," Sirius said. Sighing, he then transformed into Lancelot and then back in his human form (marking sure that his towel didn't drop from his waist).

"Bloody hell, you're an animagus," Rose gasped.

"A what?" Harry asked.

"An animagus, it's a wizard who's mastered the magic of transforming into your spirit animal," Rose responded.

"You're a wizard, then?" said Harry. "Why have you been pretending to be our Lancelot?" Sirius stayed silent. Suddenly Rose gasped and dropped her wand.

"Y-y-you're Sirius Black," She realized. Sirius nodded his head slowly.

"The one Griphook told us about," Harry said.

"You're in our parent's photo album," Rose said. She got down from the bed. Harry jumped down and stepped in front of his sister. Rose pushed him away. "He was dad's best man. His best friend." Then Rose pounced and starting to punch and claw the man.

"Rose!" Harry exclaimed as he tried to pull his sister off of Sirius. Tears were streaming down her face.

"AND HE BETRAYED THEM! HE BETRAYED OUR PARENTS AND SOLD THEM OUT TO VOLDEMORT!" Harry froze at her words. Rose took this opportunity to try to scratch and bruise every visible part of Sirius skin.

After a moment, Harry finally regained his composure and pulled his sister off of the man. Panting, Rose wiped the blood off of on her dress. She had managed to give Sirius a bloody nose and a nice long scratch down his arm.

"You're going to sit down there and you're going to explain yourself, now!" Harry said firmly as he pointed to the chair in the room. He turned around and pulled an oversized shirt and large shorts (hand-me-downs). Harry threw them at Sirius.

A few minutes later, Sirius was dressed and sitting at the chair with his hand handcuffed to the heater. Harry decided not to ask Rose why she had handcuffs in her room.

"I'm going to repeat myself," Rose said. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Because I didn't betray your parents," Sirius replied looking at them with sincere eyes.

"And how can we believe you," Harry said. "How can we believe that you didn't sell our parents out to Voldemort and then kill fourteen people? One of them being your best friend."

Sirius looked at the two. Harry looked extremely troubled. His clothes were all crumbled and wrinkled. His hair was a complete mess and stood up in different angles. Rose looked deadly as her glare pierced right through him. Like her brother, her hair was in distress with wild red curls flying around.

What Sirius noticed the most were their eyes. Two pairs of Lily's eyes stared back at him with anger, disgust, and betrayal. However, the most obvious emotion in their eyes was fear.

"Harry, Rose," his voice wavered. "I swear to you that the only thing I did that night was making the mistake of going after the rat who betrayed them, and leaving you two behind." Rose's guard dropped slightly, and Harry's glare softened. Sirius continued talking. "I wasn't their secret keeper. Peter Pettigrew was. Your parents thought it would be more obvious if it was me so they chose him. But then he sold them out to You-Know-Who. And I went after that son of a bitch, only to have him disappear and kill those muggles in the process."

There was a silence in the room. The twins looked at each other for a moment. Harry shot Rose a questioning look and she shook her head. Sirius wasn't lying. She knew when people were lying to her, and what he said was only the truth.

"How can we believe you?" Harry asked.

"I have a truth serum, Veritaserum," Rose mentioned. Both men looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Rose said. "I got it the same way I got the handcuffs."

"Which is?" said Harry.

"Stealing them," Rose replied. She went to her bag and rummaged through it. "I picked the cuffs off some Italian security back in the mall, but I got Veritaserum from Snape's classroom one night." She pulled out a small vial that had a clear liquid inside.

"That's very klepto of you," Harry respond. Sirius bit back a smile. Their twin's interactions with each other always reminded him of how James and Lily acted. Although Rose could sometimes be just like James while Harry was more like Lily.

"Open up," Rose said as she held the opened vial over his mouth. Sirius opened his mouth and allowed her to spill a few drops.

"What's your full name?" Harry asked, testing the potion.

"Sirius Orion Black," He replied.

"What's your parents' names," Rose asked.

"Walburga Alexandria Black and Orion Saxon Black," Sirius responded.

"Mother's maiden name?" Harry said.

"Black." Rose and Harry gave each other a look.

"Ew," Harry commented.

"Yeah, I know," Sirius grimaced.

"Now, what happened on the night of our parents' death," Rose asked. Then Sirius retold them everything. He was telling the truth.

There was another silence.

Then both Harry and Rose hugged Sirius. Rose quickly un-cuffed him from the heater.

"Sorry about your nose," Rose said sheepishly. She handed him a rag and he held it up to his bleeding nose.

"It's alright, I would have done the same thing," Sirius responded. They smiled at him.

"It's still strange that you were pretending to be Lancelot," Harry said.

"No wonder he was such a smart dog," Rose added. Sirius laughed, sound that he hadn't heard for a wide.

Now, it was breakfast time. Harry stood in front of the stove as he flipped pancakes in a skillet. Rose stood beside him as she stirred another pan that was filled with thick sausages and strips of bacon. After years of cooking, the twins enjoyed doing so on their own. Dobby and Bubble were only subdued by the fact they were allowed to do all the dishes afterwards.

Sirius sat at the kitchen table watching the children bustle around the kitchen counter. He had never actually learned how to cook since he had house elves in his family home, and in the Potter home when he ran away. Although he had seen them do so as a dog, it was more interesting to watch his two pseudo children move in harmony in the mist of pots and pans when he was human sized.

"Here we are," Harry said as he placed a large plate of pancakes down. Rose brought a plate filled with breakfast meats. Bubble placed plates in front of them as Dobby filled their cups with hot black coffee.

"You know, coffee will stun your growth," Sirius joked as both twelve took a swing from their mugs. Both drank their coffee black while Harry dumped four spoons or sugar in his.

"Then they shouldn't make it taste so good," Harry replied. They fill their plates with pancakes, sausages, bacon. Just like every meal they had, Rose and Harry convinced Dobby and Bubble to sit with them. Dobby was always willingly to do so while Bubble took a bit of convincing before she did. They had their plates filled in the same fashion and would either converse with each other or listen to the wizards'' conversations.

"So, Sirius," Rose said as she placed the dirty dishes in the sink. "How did you escape from Azkaban?"

"That's a long story," he replied.

"We got the rest of the summer," Harry said. Sirius smiled. The unfamiliar action stretched the skin around his cheeks.

"Harry Potter and Miss Rose will take Mr. Lancelot Black to the parlor," Dobby said as he grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out of the room.

"Bubble and Dobby will clean and bring tea," Bubble assured as she pulled her mistress out as well. They entered the parlor with had a group of armchairs and couches surrounding the center piece. It was panels of glass windows that covered the entire wall from ceiling to the floor. The window would change depending on what location you set it on.

"Everest," Harry said. The windows changed to display the icy landscape of mountains. Sirius sat down on an armchair while the twins sat on a couch with their legs tucked beneath them.

"You were going to tell us a story," Rose reminded. Sirius smiled at them. The smile began to fade as he became recalling memories of Azkaban.

"It's always cold there," Sirius mumbled. He wrapped his arms around his torso, pulling tightly at the sweater that Bubble had provided him with. His stormy grey eyes glassed over. "They do that on purpose by having the dementors patrolling the cells three times a day."

"What are dementors?" Harry asked. His voice came out in a whisper after hearing the grim tone his Godfather had chosen. Rose nodded her head in agreement. She had seen the name in one of Fred or George's textbooks, but never read about it.

"They're dark creatures," Sirius said. "Very dark. They live off of happiness and good memories of humans and suck the joy out of a person. They have them there guarding the prisoners so that no one has the heart to even move.

"The guard who patrols my cell usually reads the Daily Prophet every morning," Sirius continued. "He would crumble the paper up and throw it to the floor. I would lean and squeeze my arm over and grabbed the paper. There was always some sort of rubbish that the Skeeter woman would write down or some nonsense about the Ministry.

"Time blurs you know?" Sirius mumbled as he looked away at the window. Harry furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't heard that. He turned to look at his sister. Rose quickly mouthed the words. Harry nodded his head in understanding and they turned back to Sirius.

"Then one day, it was on the fifth page, and it was a picture of that big family," Sirius paused, and had a look of concentration of his face. "The Weasleys, I think. They had won something and were in some place."

"Egypt?" Rose supplied.

"Yeah there, but that doesn't matter," Sirius said. "It was what was on that boy's shoulder that matters. The rat."

"Are you talking about Scabbers? Ron's rat?" Harry said.

"That is not just any rat," Sirius said as his anger began to bubble up. "That rat is Peter Pettigrew."

"What!" Both Rose and Harry exclaimed.

"He's an animagus as well," Sirius explained.

"Are you sure it was him?" Rose asked. She never did like that stupid rat. But was that rat actually the indirect murderer of their parents. Her eyes went to Harry's. He sat there with an impassive look as he chewed on his bottom lip. Had her brother and his classmates been sleeping for two years in the same room as a killer?

"Defiantly," Sirius said. "When I confronted him twelve years ago, he escaped by placing a curse that would cause an explosion. He used this as a way to escape me and kill thirteen muggles in the process. When the smoke cleared, there was only one part of him left: the index finger of his left hand."

"Scabbers is missing a finger on one of his paws," Harry stated. Sirius nodded his head in agreement while Rose pursed her lips into a thin line.

"So, you saw the newspaper, saw that Peter Pettigrew was still alive, and decided to escape in order to accomplish what exactly?" Rose asked.

"To kill him," He spat out. Harry blanched at his godfather's answer. Rose barely reacted.

"How did you plan on doing so?" Rose asked as she raised one of her eyebrows. "Did you think you were going ambush the Weasleys and kill their family rat? Or because they aren't returning until a week before school starts, were you going figure out a way to sneak into Hogwarts to kill him?"

"Well, I was going to do anything I possibly could," Sirius said. He jumped on to his feet. "That asshole sold out James and Lily! The least that I can do is avenge them!"

"No," Rose said firmly. She stood up as well and placed her hands on her hips. "What you're trying to do is get yourself caught! You're trying to commit the murder that you were falsely accused of so that you can actually deserve your life sentence!" Sirius frowned.

"I guess, I hadn't thought about it that far," He mumbled.

"Hell yeah, you haven't!" Rose's voice began to get higher. "If you even attempt to do such a thing, you'll be sent back to Azkaban faster than you can say: Oops! And then where will that leave Harry and me? Because you were supposed to take care of us when our parents died! But instead you went off and got yourself thrown in prison when we needed you the most! But instead we were left with those stupid 'relatives' who never even loved us and treated us like trash!"

Her words shot themselves like bullets at Sirius. Before he knew it, he was sitting back down in the arm chair with an angry twelve year old girl wagging a finger at him.

"I'm so sorry," Sirius said, his voice barely a whisper. He looked down to the floor and clenched his teeth tightly.

"Hey, it's alright," Harry said, being the voice of reason. He stood up and placed a hand on Rose's shoulder who had tears of frustration in her eyes. "I think what Rose's is trying to say is that you shouldn't try to kill Pettigrew."

Harry was quickly greeted with two looks of disbelief.

"Oh no, brother, you must have misunderstood me," Rose said. "I want that bastard dead."

"But-," Harry started.

"No buts," Rose interrupted. "I'm simply saying that if we're going to kill that arse than we must do it the smart way where no one gets caught, and you," she pointed at Sirius "get your name cleared."

"We?!" Harry and Sirius exclaimed. The two Gryffindors turned to look at the redhead with disbelief on their faces. Rose simply smirked.

"I have a plan," Rose said. She sat back down on the couch. At that moment, Dobby entered with a platter of tea.

"Lemon Tea!" Dobby announced with his squeaky voice. "Harry Potter's favorite!" He placed the tray on the coffee table and began to pour out three cups of tea.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said as he accepted the cup from the elf. Dobby gave him a huge smile and had to restraint himself from jumping up and down. Harry Potter was always so kind to him. So polite.

"What is this plan?" Sirius asked as he accepted the cup of tea.

"We get rid of the rat as what he is a rat; plain and simple," Rose said simply. "First week of school, Harry will throw Scabbers into a bag. Hands it over to me. We'll have Sirius sneaked into the school. He can beat him up and get all that vent up anger out. Then we send that little bag with a bottle of Veritaserum and a handy dandy little note saying: Hey this guy isn't dead! And boom, you're names clear and then that asshole gets stuck with the guilt"

"What about Ron?" Harry asked.

"We'll buy him a new rat! Better yet, we'll buy him a more useful pet like an owl or something," Rose said.

"And what about Peter? What if someone in the Ministry slows down their wonderful process?" Sirius asked. "If you don't recall, I was sent away without a trial."

Rose brought the cup to her lips, took a sip of the hot liquid, and put it down. She placed one leg above the other and smirked.

"Then, we'll have the Ministry work for us," She said with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"How?" Sirius asked. Harry just smiled. He knew that look. His sister had something prepared underneath her sleeve.

"Just trust me," Rose replied. Sirius was about to say something, but Harry stopped him.

"Just let her be, she'll figure this out," Harry said. "She always comes through."

"But that's not until the beginning of the school year so let's enjoy the summer," Rose said in a pleasant tone. She got onto her feet and left the room.

"Harry, how did you sister become like this?" Sirius asked with an amused tone.

"Become what?" Harry asked.

"A Slytherin," Sirius respond. Harry laughed.

"Truth be told, I think that we would be in a much worse situation if Rose wasn't the way she is," Harry said.

**Sirius is out! Whoo! You know the drill, please review with comments and criticism and thoughts and questions. I really do love reading them and change future things when I read a review that's really insightful. **

**Thanks a ton! Review!**


	13. Periods and Signatures

**Hello again! Two days and two uploads. You're welcome. Be aware though that once I upload this chapter, I'm putting my laptop away in my suitcase and I probably won't access it until tomorrow night. I've finished up chapter 14 and I've completed two pages in chapter 15. This chapter could be considered a filler chapter to some, but it has a purpose which I'll discuss at the end. Thank you to all those who are enjoying this story! Please enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Periods and Signatures

There were few things in this world that filled Sirius Black with joy. One of them being woman, obviously. Although it had been a while since the last time he got to enjoy that. Another being spending time with his best friends or at least the children of his best friends.

But one thing that would always place a huge smile on his face was Quidditch.

Sirius had forgotten how much fun it was to fly over the lake of his family's vacation home. Although the last time he was there, he was ten and was still trying to convince his seven year old brother to get on his broom with him.

But now, he had the familiar beater's bat in hand as he deflected practice bludgers as he played a one-on-one match with his god son. He felt like he was bloody seventeen again!

The goal was to knock each other off their brooms using beater's bats and practice bludgers. Harry said it was "a wizard's version of dodge ball." Whatever that meant.

The loser would obviously fall into lake and would have to carry the brooms back to the shed. Sirius knew he was going to win. Although Harry was a great flyer (just like his father) he was still a seeker after all. He on the other hand had been one of the Gryffindor beaters for nearly five years.

Of course there was nothing like a blood curdling scream to throw someone of their game. Literally.

"What the hell?" Sirius spluttered as he emerged from the water. Harry quickly flew down and landed smoothly on the side of the lake.

"That was Rose!" Harry shouted as he ran towards the villa. Sirius quickly swam to shore and followed after Harry. He was slowed down a bit since his trousers and shirt was sopping wet.

"What happened?" Sirius asked as he entered the house. He was met with Bubble's beaming face. Her eyes twinkled with joy.

"Lady Rose is being a woman!" She exclaimed as she clapped her two hands together.

"What?" Sirius asked. But the elf didn't answer so he ran upstairs to where Rose's room was. Her doors were wide open and he could hear harry and Rose's voices inside.

"Rosie, just calm down," Harry voice echoed from the room.

"I don't know! I don't know, Harry!" Rose kept on repeating. Sirius ran into the room and into the attached bathroom were everyone was.

Rose was standing in the center of the bathtub. Tears were streaming down her face and she was clutching her center. She was wearing a loose tank top with a pair of white sweatpants. A large, very visible spot of red covered the front of her pants.

"My stomach hurts too, Harry, I don't know what happening to me!" Rose cried.

"Sirius, what's going on?! Is she dying?!" Harry said as he turned to his godfather.

Then it all clicked in Sirius's head.

Shit.

"Oh, Merlin," Sirius groaned as he covered his face with his hands. It there was ever a time that he wished Lily was still here, this would be the time.

"Rose, sweetie, just calm down," Sirius told the girl.

"Calm down! My insides feel like they're going through a wood chipper and there's blood pouring out of my va-!"

"Rose!" Harry said, grabbing his sister by the shoulder.

"You're not dying," Sirius told her.

"Then what's happening to me?!" Rose yelled.

Sirius groaned again. This was defiantly the last thing he ever wanted to deal with.

Nearly half an hour later, Rose sat in the on the side of her bed nursing a hot cup of chamomile tea. She had a thick towel wrapped around her waist.

"So what's happening to me?" Rose asked again. Harry sat beside her on the bed while Sirius paced in front of them.

"Hm, well, you see," Sirius said sheepishly. He kept on wringing his hands, and looked extremely awkward. He sighed again. "Oh, Merlin, were do I start?"

"Mr. Siry! Maybe Bubble can help?" Bubble said as she entered the room. In her hands was a large book and a packet. She handed the book and packet to Rose. "Page 394." Rose flipped to the page. _Chapter 13: A Magical Girl and Her Maturing Body._

"What?" Rose said.

"Old Mistress Lady Black's mummy gave her this," Bubble explained. She then gestured to the packet. "Old Mistress Lady Black is put this in her lady part and it take the blood."

"What?" Rose repeated again as her eyes went wide.

"Rose, you see when a girl starts going through changes things start to happen," Sirius said as he sat down next to her.

"What kind of changes?" Rose asked. Sirius paled and look down at his hands again.

"I –well –you see it's actually quiet –er –why don't you read that book? C'mon, Harry," Sirius said. He got up, grabbed Harry by the shoulder and pulled him out of the room, leaving Rose with Bubble.

"Sirius, is that gonna happen to me too?" Harry asked as they left. Sirius chuckled.

"No, that only happens to girls," He replied.

"Thank merlin," Harry said.

"Now, what's a wood chipper?"

Back inside of her room, Rose sat with Bubble as the elf was explaining to her what the menstrual cycle was. Bubble did seemed to know what she was talking about considering she had served pervious female mistress. However there was one thing that she quite didn't understand.

"So this happens every month for like the rest of my life?" Rose asked for the tenth time.

"Yes, m'lady," Bubble replied. Rose tossed her head back and groaned. This was complete bullocks.

"And boys don't have to go through this? Just girls?" Rose said.

"Yes, m'lady." Rose groaned again.

"That's bloody rubbish."

"Yes m'lady. Now let Bubble shows yous how to put the pad on," Bubble said as she grabbed her mistress's hand.

"A what?"

"A pad, m'lady Rose," the elf held up the small plastic packet. She unwrapped it to reveal a folded cushion type thing. Rose groaned again and allowed the elf to pull her to the bathroom.

A few days later, Rose and Harry sat together in the house's library. They were completing an essay for History of Magic on witch-burning.

"What day is it?" Harry asked out of the blue.

"Do I look like a bloody calendar?" Rose snapped.

"Whoa there, calm down," Harry replied as he raised his hands up in defense.

"Sorry," Rose grumbled. She wrapped her arms tightly around her center and knocked her head back. "My stomach's been killing me." Harry chuckled and patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"It'll get better," Harry said. "I read in that book that its stops happening once you get old."

"How old?" Rose asked. Harry frowned.

"Fifty maybe sixty?"

"But that's like forever away!" Harry simply chuckled and gave her a one armed hug. "It's July 30th by the way."

"What! But tomorrow's our birthday," Harry jumped to his feet, tossing the half done essay away.

"Yeah, I've already gotten your gift and Dobby and Bubble are gonna make a cake," Rose said.

"Shit," Harry groaned as he ran out of the room.

"And he forgot to get a gift," Rose rolled her eyes. "Typical." Despite her words, Rose found herself smiling.

The next day arrived. As the faintest signs of light pierced through the room, Rose's eyes flutter open. She rolled out of bed and headed towards her bathroom. In front of the sink's mirror, she inspected her reflection. Her hair needed a washing. With a sign, she went to the toilet.

"Bloody brilliant," Rose mumbled to herself. She doubled checked again just to be sure and was more than pleased with the results. She was finally done with her period! And just in time for her birthday no less!

Humming a cheery tune, Rose hopped into the shower for a quick rinse. Once she was done she made her way to her closet. After picking through different dresses and shirts, she finally decided on a thin yellow top with a pair of denim shorts.

She left her room with a parcel in hand, and skipped over to next door. Silently, she pushed the door open. Harry had chosen the star themed room. The shades of dark blue glittered with white and silver flakes and flecks really suited. With a smile, Rose tiptoed to the large bed where her brother was sleeping.

Crawling over the blue comforter, Rose laid down next to Harry. She smiled at his slumbering form. Her eyes went to the gold and emerald bracelet around his wrist. Her necklace pulsed warmly at the sight.

Harry looked much older in his sleep, but not the kind that came from age. No, he looked much more mature which was a feat considering his mouth was wide open and his hair was more of a mess than usual. Rose traced her finger over the familiar lightning shaped scar.

She remembered when they were children, stuck together in that tiny cupboard with only a single lantern. They would curl around each other in an attempt to conserve space. They would talk to each other in hushed tones, retelling their dreams which would always be so imaginative. Harry told her about a flying motorcycle. He even drew a picture of it and hung it in their 'room.' She would tell him about how she'd dream about them being underwater as he saved her from a bunch of evil merpeople.

Rose smiled again. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek. At the gentle touch, long dark lashes flutter open revealing a matching pair of vibrant green eyes.

"Rosie?" Harry said. He sat up, leaning on his arms for support. Rose threw herself on top of him and held him tightly.

"Happy Birthday!" Rose exclaimed. Harry chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Happy Birthday to you too!" Harry said. They laid down next to each other, still embracing.

"We're thir_teen, _Harry," Rose stated. "We're officially teenagers! It took long enough since all of our friends turn thirteen ages ago."

"I guess we're just late bloomers," Harry replied.

"I think so," Rose said. "I mean I think Hermione already had boobs, and I just never noticed." Harry's cheeks tinted pink at her words.

"C'mon, Rose, let me give you your gift," Harry said. As he leaned over to the bedside table.

"Oh, so you were able to get something on such short notice," Rose smirked.

"Just open your gift," Harry said. He handed her a small bundle that was wrapped up in a green gift paper. Rose ripped it open.

It was a purse. Made out of a soft purple material with a black leather drawstring around it and a long thin purple strap.

Rose opened the purse and struck her hand in. She gasped as her hand fell through, nearly pulling her entire self into it.

"Whoa," Rose said.

"I know right, you love those extension charms," Harry said. "But this one doesn't wear off and check this out." He took the purse from her and pushed his pillow into it. He then opened it wide and said: "Pillow." The pillow zoomed out on the purse and landed on his outstretched hand.

"Brilliant!" Rose exclaimed. She threw her arms around him.

"Yeah, since you've been doing all that shopping, I thought this might be useful when we go off to Hogwarts. I got it off this magical catalog thing and they did rush delivery," Harry said. Rose continued to smile. She turned around and got her gift to him. It was wrapped up in a white paper that had golden snitches flying around on it. Harry accepted the gift and tore into it.

It was a picture frame. It was a light wood painted blue with little moons and stars on it. However it was the picture inside that made it worthwhile. It was old lined notebook paper that was tinted slightly yellow from time. On the paper was a crayon drawing of a dark blue motorcycle flying through the night sky with two stick figure kids riding it. One had poufy red hair and green eyes while the other had dark hair, round glasses, and a large lightning scar that didn't exactly fit on its head. On the corner of the page was the scribbling of a seven year old. '_Harry and Rosie saving the world!'_

"Rose, where –where did you get this?" Harry asked. He looked up at her as he grasped the frame tightly. Memories began to flash through his mind.

"Remember? We had it hung up in the cupboard in Privet Drive," Rose said. "You drew this back in Miss Kathleen's class during art time. Said it was in a dream of yours –me and you riding together on a flying motorcycle, going over Bristol out of all place!"

"Thank you," Harry replied. He wrapped his arms around his sister again and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"C'mon, brother, get dressed so that we can get some breakfast," Rose said as she got off his bed.

Rose waited outside of his room as Harry got ready. After ten minutes, he finally came out dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt. His wet black hair stuck out in odd angles. He repeatedly tried to pat down his stubborn hair.

"Try all you can, I really don't it will work," Rose said as she ruffled his head. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Do you think Sirius is awake yet?" He asked. Rose shrugged, and the two made their way downstairs. Sirius's room was on the second floor and was one of the few rooms that didn't have the whole blue, green, and black theme like the rest of the house. Apparently it was the room he stayed in as a child.

They knocked three times before they finally got a response.

"Why are you children always up so early?" Sirius groaned. He had a terrible case of bed head and was still dressed in his nightshirt and pants. They didn't say anything. Sirius smiled and opened his arms.

"C'mon, pups, Happy Birthday!" He said and hugged the twins. Rose and Harry laughed.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," Harry said.

"Don't wait up for me then," Sirius replied. "Just give me a moments to change." With one last pat on their backs, he returned to his run.

Holding hands, the twins ventured down two more flights of stairs. They were greeted by Bubble and Dobby.

"Happy Birthsdays!" The two elf chorused. They smiled.

"Thanks, guys," Rose said as she hugged the small creatures.

"Bubble and Dobby is making you a birthday breakfast," Dobby said. He grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him away to the dining room.

"M'lady?" Bubble said as she offered her hand to Rose. The _teenaged_ girl accepted the head and was led to the dining room.

Dobby and Bubble had outdone themselves like they did every time they were allowed to cook. The entire dining room table, which was about half the size of a quidditch pitch, was covered in food. Every breakfast food in the world was on that table. And everything had a lit birthday candle on it.

"Oh my god," Rose mumbled.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Could you guys at least un-light the candles before the house burns down?" The elves reluctantly snapped their fingers and the candles were unlit. At that moment, Sirius came in dressed in a pair of slacks and a t-shirt.

"Why are all the candles unlit? It's your birthday, isn't it?" He said. Harry and Rose laughed much to Sirius's confusion. Dobby stubbornly relit the candles

They were seated at the head of the table. Dobby and Bubble joined them at the table. Their plants filled with everything. Rose and Harry quickly blew out their candles and began to puck them off the food. At that moment, five owls flew in to the room's open window. One of them was Hedwig. Another was the pristine Malfoy eagle owl. They were both supporting Errol, the Weasley owl. The other two were unrecognizable barn owls.

"Hey girl," Harry greeted the snowy owl. She hooted lovingly and nipped at his finger. She dropped off a package on his lap and then on Rose. Then she went to feast on the breakfast food. The other four owls dropped off their packages and went off. Errol stayed behind to eat and drink water.

"They're gifts," Rose stated. She opened the first package which from Hermione. She had gotten her the second volume of the animagus book since Hermione was the same person to give her the first volume. Along with it was a letter.

_Dear Rose,_

_Happy Birthday! I hope you've been enjoying your time in Italy with Harry. I still can't believe that Harry's godfather left you two a villa! France is honestly beautiful this time of year, and I've been really working on my French. My parents sends their hellos and greetings. They would also love to have you and Harry over next summer or over the winter or Easter Holidays._

_I also hope that you've haven't forgotten to complete your summer homework. Please actually try to complete your History of Magic essay proper this time. You can't keep on drawing pictures on your essays. Also, I wanted to discuss with you a portion of the potion essay that Professor Snape assigned. Did you write that an Erumpent Potion would appear as asparagus green or fern green? I wrote fern green but I would love to hear you opinion._

_Anyway, you're thirteen now! Although I must admit, it's not really different from being twelve. Then again, I turned thirteen last September so I presume it will be more apparent once we're in our third year. I really hope you like your gift since you've read the first volume so quickly. Wouldn't it be amazing if we were able to become animagus's? But we'll have to wait until we're seventeen to be able to register with the Ministry to become ones. By the way, that wasn't just a tidbit of information but more of a warning not to do what you're probably thinking, Rose._

_I will see you soon. The Weasley's and I are coming back to England a few days before term starts and we plan on all meeting for our supplies in Diagon Alley. You'll probably see more in Ron's letter._

_Sincerely,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. It is literally illegal to become an animagus before the age of 17. Do not do it, Rose. Seriously._

Rose smiled widely as she read the letter. She turned to Harry.

"She got me a broomstick cleaning kit," Harry told her.

"Second volume of an animagus book," Rose said. Sirius perked up.

"Really? You know, I could teach you two how to become ones," Sirius told them. Rose laughed.

"Isn't illegal?" Rose asked. Sirius snorted.

"So? Your dad and I became animagus in our fourth year," Sirius stated. Rose smiled again. So apparently a disregard of authority and rules was hereditary. She opened the next package from Ron. It was a Sneakoscope from Egypt. She turned to the letter.

_Happy Birthday Rose!_

_-Ron_

_P.S. Mum wanted me to invite you and Harry to come to Diagon with on August 31._

"Oh, Ron, you're really shouldn't have written so much," Rose laughed.

"How many sentence did you get?" Harry asked.

"Two, you?"

"Seven."

After that, she unwrapped Draco's gift. It was two more charms for her bracelet. One of them was a silver sword with rubies and a small golden feather.

_Dear Rose,_

_Happy Birthday! I really miss you and Harry. The Caribbean is lovely but father is trying extremely hard to be the exact opposite._

_Anyway, I chose those two charms because of what happened last term. I know it was kind of sad and a bit scaring, but honestly I think there was a few good things that you should remember. Like you save Ginny life for one. And you got rid of that Riddle guy. Oh and you got bloody Lockhart sacked._

_So yeah, recall the bad things if only to be able to remember the good things._

_Sincerely,_

_Draco M_

Rose smiled. Leave it to Draco bloody Malfoy to get deep in a freaking letter. She attached the charms to her bracelet. The other packages were from Daphne, Theo, and Blaise with short notes wishing her a 'Happy Birthday.'

The next two packages were from Fred and George. George had gotten her a packet of tricks and treats from Zonko's along with a short note telling her Happy Birthday and sending his love. Fred's gift was a bit different from his brother. Of all of the things he could send her, he sent her a bracelet.

It was a golden snake that was coiled tightly three times. The tail flicked out at the bottom while the head did the same on top. It eyes were small little rubies. Utterly confused by the gift, Rose turned to the letter.

_Hey Rose,_

_Happy Birthday! Before you argue, no you cannot return the bracelet. I got it using the money dad gave me and George from his winnings. And I got it only for a galleon and thirteen Sickles. Can you believe it? The Egyptian guy was a muggle and didn't really understand what the money was. But he accepted it regardless. It think it would look really nice on you. It's kinda like a Gryffindor and Slytherin combo. Kinda like us, you know?_

_How is Italy? Still can't believe you're there. Must be nice to be away from your muggle relatives. Egypt is nice too. It's nice visiting Bill and Charlie even came over. Bill's dating this girl this, but I don't think it'll last (mum likes her too much). Charlie is still single as ever. I'm starting to think that he's just attracted to anyone which it perfectly fine. Percy refuses to speak with George and me. I don't think he realized that it isn't that much of a punishment. Oh, and Ginny says hi. A lot._

_I really do miss you, Rose. I can't wait to see you in the end of August. We really should take more pictures, I can barely remember how you look anymore. _

_Love,_

_Fred_

Rose felt her cheeks turn brightly red. She brought the letter to her chest, and quickly slipped the bracelet on her right wrist. Her charm bracelet was still on the left wrist.

What was this strange thing she was feeling? It felt like her chest was bubbling with some odd potion. And her stomach was doing back flips and her hands were getting sweaty. And now all she could thing about was how much she wanted to hugged Fred. Maybe even kiss him?

Was she supposed to be liking boys? Do boys like her? God, she wished she had someone to talk to with about this. She obviously couldn't go to Sirius or Harry and asked them about boys.

"Rose?" Sirius's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hm, yes," she said, looking up.

"You alright there, sweetie?" He said.

"Yeah, yeah of course," Rose responded.

"Hagrid got us these books," Harry said as he handed her a furry tome. It had large fangs in front of it with a leather strap keeping it closed. It shook and growled.

"Why would he send us this?" She asked as she held the book an arm width away from her.

"Apparently, it's the required text book for the Care of Magical Creatures class," Harry informed her. Rose groaned. That's wonderful.

"I got your Hogwarts letters," Sirius said. He handed them their respective envelopes. "I think you'll be getting your Hogsmeade slips as well."

"Our whats?" Harry asked.

"Hogsmeade permission slips, once you get into third year, you're allowed to go down to the village by Hogwarts. But, you need permission from a parent or guardian," Sirius explained. Rose shuffled through the contents of the envelope. There was the customary letter from Professor McGonagall, this year's supply list, their exams scores, and the permission slip.

"But Aunt Petunia would never sign this, and you can't either, Sirius," Harry said solemnly. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Really, Harry?" Rose said. She took slip from Harry which was quite a feat considering there were still a tower of food separating them. "Bubble, could you please find me a quill?"

"Yes, here you go," Bubble snapped her fingers and gave her a quill.

"Thank you," Rose said. She quickly wrote down '_Petunia Dursley' _in a neat cursive on both slips. "There. Here's your permission slip to Hogsmeade."

"Won't they find out though?" Harry asked. Both Sirius and Rose laughed.

"Nah, they won't. My parents refused to sign my slip too, but I got my brother to sign it," Sirius told them. "Trust me, they won't find out."

"Alright then, I guess," Harry responded uncertainly. Regardless, he accepted the piece of paper.

**Okay, you're probably wondering, why did I add the part about Rose getting her period. The simple answer is that this is follows Rose's life and getting a period is a normal thing that happens to a growing girl. The more complicated answer is that, this shows just how much Rose needs a mother in her life. There are multiple things that a young girl should experience with the guidance of her mother. Getting your period for the first time is one of them. But here is an orphan girl who has to rely on her uncle and house elf to attempt to help her. This is also a parallel to Harry because JKR explores the things that Harry misses out on by not having a father. **

**Okie-Dokie! Please review, favorite, and follow! Thank you to everyone who's shown an interest in this story!**

**By the way, there should be a poll up on my profile about who Rose should end up with. I would love to hear you opinions. **


	14. Knight Bus and Chocolate

**Hello! I'm currently on break from school so I will try to upload as many chapters as I can! Thank You for anyone who is still holding on! :)****  
**

Chapter 14: Knight Bus and Chocolate

After Rose and Harry's birthday, the three British wizards continued to enjoy their holiday in Italy. However, all good things must come to an end, and they were nearing the end of August.

That's why they found themselves standing in the muggle airport in Rome. They sat in the sitting area near the gate until their plane arrived.

"There's a decent sized cottage out in Wales that my family owns," Sirius said as he sat in between them. He looked quite aristocratic with his clean black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, sharp features, sunglasses, and white muggle suit. "There's also Potter Manor out by Scotland."

"I'd prefer the cottage," Harry replied. Dressed in a loose red shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked just like an average teenaged boy.

"Can we at least check out the Manor?" Rose asked. She was wearing a short grass green sundress with a white head ban re straining her hair. On her lap was a large brown bag where Gwaine was sleeping in with her purple purse on her shoulder. Hedwig was on her way to England with her own wings since she refused to go into enter a plane.

"Flight 394, boarding," A voice announced through the intercom.

"That's ours," Harry said. The trio got up with their carry-ons and made their way to the gate. Since they had gotten first class tickets, they boarded the plane really quickly.

"So once we touched down in London, you have to transform into Lancelot," Rose stated.

"Of course, it also helps that I look nothing like my mug shot now," Sirius remarked.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly," Harry said. At that moments the flight attendant appeared and began to read the safety instruction.

"I have to say, muggles must have their own form of magic," Sirius muttered as the plane took off. Rose smiled and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Her eyelids drooped and she dozed off to sleep.

Four hours later, Rose was shaken awake by her brother.

"We're here," Harry said. Rose absent mindedly nodded her head and reached over to her purse. Gwaine meowed at her.

"C'mon, pups," Sirius said as he ushered the children out. They didn't wait long to exit the plane since they were in the front of the plane.

They held their breaths in anticipation as they entered the London International Airport. They had heard over the wireless radio that the muggles had been informed of the escaped criminal Sirius Black. They were given his Azkaban mug shot which was one of a thing screaming man with long filthy hair and a wiry beard. They were smart enough to get him a fake passport (the miracles that money could do).

But would any muggles notice that Sirius Black was walking among them?

The answer was no.

No one said a word or even gave Sirius a second glance much to their relief. They went through customs smoothly (Sirius flirted with the lady working there), and got their luggage.

If any outsider was watching them, they would see what looked like a small family with either a father or uncle and a pair of siblings. They would also see this trio walk towards a janitor's closet. Then their uncle or dad, whoever he was, stepped into the closet while the children waited. Moments would pass until the door opened again. Instead of the tall man in the white suit, a large dark haired dog came out. The two children didn't seem to bat an eyelash at the dog. Rather, the girl pulled out a large collar and leash and strapped it around the dog's neck.

Fortunately, no one was watching. Expect for a small boy who would later publish a fictional book series about the daring adventures of two siblings and their transforming guardian. It would later become a movie along with a series of collectible dolls and possibly a spin off television series.

"It was called the Knight Bus, right?" Harry asked again. Lancelot barked in agreement.

"Yeah, we just have go out to the street and call for it," Rose confirmed. They walked through the streets in attempt to find a part that wasn't crowded with muggles or cars. They had to walk for a good seventeen minutes before they found a deserted road. Harry stuck his arm out and said:

"Knight Bus."

There was a deafening BANG, and Harry Rose threw up their hands to shield their eyes against a sudden blinding light -

They moved away from the road, just in time. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt exactly where there were. They belonged to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled _'The Knight Bus'._

Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to them:

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. We can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor toda -"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, and looked at the pair. His small brown eyes flicked to the large black dog, Rose's hair, and Harry's forehead. Harry quickly flatted his bangs in front of his forehead.

"So, who ya are?" Stan said, his professional demeanor dropped.

"Neville Longbottom," Harry said. Rose stifled a laugh at his words.

"Daphne Greengrass," Rose said with a smile.

"Well, Daphne, Neville, watcha ya waiting for? Come on board!" Stan stand as he ushered them inside. He went to lift up their trunks which and they climbed inside of the large decker bus. Inside instead of rows of chairs there were rows of white cots. The inside of the bus had three stories with a large chandelier in the center of it.

"Ernie! It's daytime, turn the chairs on!" Stan shouted at an elderly wizard with thick glasses who sat in front of a steering wheel. He flipped a lever and the cots disappeared and were replaced by rows of blue bus chairs. Stan set down their trunk while the twins went to sit. Lancelot climbed onto a chair.

"Where to?" Stan asked.

"Diagon Alley," Rose told him.

"Ya heard the girl, Ern!" Stan shouted at Ernie. Ernie flipped another lever and –BANG!

They were thundering along the streets. Rose sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way.

Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby- looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron, behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Thanks," Harry said to Ern. He gave Harry a toothless grin. Stan helped them out again by carrying their trunks. Rose paid the man for the trip and then –BANG! The Knight Bus was gone again.

"Hi, Tom," Both Potters greeted him as they entered the pub.

"Good to see ya so soon, tots," Tom greeted them.

"Could we get a room for two nights?" Rose asked. Tom grinned and was as helpful like he always was. He led them upstairs to the inn into to same room they got last time. As soon as Tom left, Lancelot went to the bathroom and came out as Lancelot a moment later.

"So, Rose," He said as he sat down on one of the four poster beds. "What's your big plan to sneak me into Hogwarts?"

At that moment, Hedwig came flying through an open window and landed on Harry's shoulder. She hooted cheerfully and nipped at his ear.

"Hey, girl," Harry greeted his loyal familiar.

"Rose," Sirius repeated. The red haired girl smiled and petted the snowy owl on her brother's shoulder.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a blond, Sirius?" Rose asked.

Twenty minutes later, Sirius Black was sitting with a towel around his shoulder as Rose rubbed some sort of bad smelling goop on his head.

Harry was laughing loudly in the background.

"Now, I see why you refuse to tell me what was going on," Sirius grumbled.

"So what's going to happen is that you're going to stay as Lancelot, but as a blond Lancelot in case anyone in Hogwarts had any memories or recollection of you as a dog," Rose explained. "And then we're going to get Dobby and Bubble to take you over to Hogsmeade on September 1st. We'll meet you at the train station there when we get off. Then Harry's gonna put his invisibility cloak over you and we'll sneak you through."

"Where will I stay while at Hogwarts?" He asked.

"Have you ever met Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Yes," he eyed the twins suspiciously. "I lend him my motorcycle once. Haven't gotten it back yet."

"Well, Hagrid is quite fond of dogs," Rose said as she smiled sweetly.

"I think I understand where this is going," Sirius grumbled. "You want me to stay with Hagrid while you lot find Pettigrew."

"Exactly, and then once it's all done, we'll sneak you out again during the first Hogsmeade trip and you can apparated away," Rose said. "And then we'll just have to comfort Hagrid on the disappearance of his latest pet."

"I think it's a good plan," Harry remarked.

"Yeah, well at least you don't have to look like a Malfoy," Sirius grumbled. Rose frowned and tugged at a lock of his hair. "Ow! You pulled my hair!"

"Draco Malfoy is our good friend," Rose scolded him. Sirius pouted and rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure Padfoot is going to turn blond?" Sirius asked.

"Who's Padfoot?" Harry asked. Sirius smiled nostalgically.

"When we were in school," Sirius started. He stared at the floor with his grey eyes flooding with emotion. "Your father and I and our friends gave nicknames to each other. I was Padfoot and James was Prongs. Our friend was Moony, and that rat was Wormtail." He spat out the last name. A silence filled the room which was quite normal whenever Sirius brought up his times in school.

An hour passed and Sirius stepped out of the room with his newly washed yellow hair.

"I look terrible," Sirius grumbled. Rose and Harry laughed.

"I love it," Harry chuckled. Sirius shot him a glare. He really did look strange with the blonde hair.

"How long is this thing gonna last?" Sirius asked. He directed the question at Rose who couldn't look at him and keep a straight face.

"Ten months. It's a Madam Kathleen's Magical Hair Coloring Solution," Rose said. Sirius ran his hand through his hair and then transformed.

In front of them was Lancelot. But now he was completely yellow. He looked a lot less menacing as a blonde dog.

"You look like a golden retriever," Harry stated. Lancelot rolled his eyes.

"Listen, Sirius, you're going to have to stay like Lancelot from now on," Rose said. "We don't want anyone seeing you or overhearing you. We've already risk enough already." Lancelot gave a pout (how the hell does a dog do that), but reluctantly nodded his head.

The next day passed fairly quickly since Rose and Harry were asleep for most of it. The jet lag along with the time difference did nothing to help them. Fortunately, they had enough energy to get new school robes, school books, and school supplies.

Then, August 31st arrived. Rose was awake at dawn once again. She waited until seven am to wake up Harry and Sirius.

"Rossseee," Harry whined. Rose rolled her eyes and grabbed him and pulled him out of the bed.

"C'mon, we're going to get to see our friends," Rose said. That seemed to perk Harry up a bit, so he was finally able to move out of bed.

A few hours later, they were sitting at _Florean and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. _Harry had decided to be adventurous and chose a peanut butter and jelly flavored ice cream with sliced bananas. Rose decided to stick with triple chocolate fudge.

"Harry! Rose!" The twins turned around to see Hermione and Ron running up to them. They nearly dropped their ice cream as their friends hugged them tightly.

"Mione, I've missed you so much," Rose said as she wrapped her arms around the brunette. Hermione had physically changed over the summer. The girl had grown a good four inches and was now taller than Rose. Her skin was tanned a nice caramel color than went nicely with her hair. Rose also noticed that Hermione had filled out into her figure and looked quite good in her tank top and shorts.

"I've missed you too! You look so good," Hermione responded. Rose had only grown an inch or two. Her hair had gotten longer and a bit curlier. She also filled out as well though it was unnoticed beneath the oversized yellow sweater and shorts.

"Finally!" said Ron, grinning at Harry as he sat down with them. "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's." The ginger boy was now towering over all of them. He somehow got thinner and his nose got longer. His pants were obviously getting short since they ended inches above his ankle. Harry beamed brightly. He grew a good five inches as well but still seemed small next to Ron.

"We already got our supplies yesterday," Harry said.

"We're also staying in the Leaky Cauldron tonight as well. So we can all go to Kings Cross together," Ron added.

Hermione nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things."

"Brilliant!" said Rose happily. "So, have you got all your new books and stuff?"

"Look at this," said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books -" He pointed at a large bag under his chair. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two."

"What's all that, Hermione?" Rose asked, pointing at not one but three bulging bags in the chair next to her.

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies-"

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry and Rose. "You're Muggle- born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," said Hermione earnestly.

"I can't remember if I chose Arithmancy or Ancient Runes so I had to buy both books," Rose told Hermione.

"At least we'll have that class together," Hermione said.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked Harry, while Ron sniggered. Hermione and Rose ignored them.

"I've still have ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice book?" Ron said innocently. Rose kicked him beneath the table.

"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want a familiar. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, Rose's got Gwaine, and you've got Errol -"

"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers."

"Where is Scabbers by the way, Ron?" Rose asked with an impassive face. Ron frowned.

"The stupid rat got himself lost," Ron grumbled. "He's probably somewhere in my trunk or something." Rose frowned and Harry fidgeted slightly.

"Hermione, why don't we go get your pet? There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Rose.

So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical Menagerie.

There wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants of these cages were all squeaking, squawking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the counter was already advising a wizard on the care of double-ended newts, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited, examining the cages.

"_Hello there, little one," _Rose greeted a small black snake. It looked up confused and fluttered open its eyes. It had stunning bright green eyes.

"_Are you talking to me, Missss," _the small snake hissed back.

"_Yes, what's your name?" _Rose asked. Harry, Hermione, and Rose had scattered off examining owls and some cats.

"_I don't have one," _the snake replied. _"I'm a boy, but I've never been called anything."_

_"How about Arthur?" _Rose asked. The snake cocked its head to the side as he considered the name. Finally he nodded his head.

"_Are you gonna buy me?" _Arthur asked. Rose bit her lip. Should she buy the little snake? She already had Gwaine and then there's Lancelot. Alright so maybe he was technically Sirius, but she still considered Lancelot as her pet. What would Hogwarts say? Would she even be allowed to get a second pet let alone a snake?

"_Please," _Arthur begged. He widen his green eyes. Rose groaned. How could she say no now? Why did that little snake have to have her brother's eyes?

"_Fine," _Rose responded. Arthur gave little shrieks of joy. Rose picked up the small cage and went to the counter. The double-ended newts' guy had left.

As soon as she purchased the small snake she turned to see that Ron, Harry, and Hermione had come back.

"Another pet, Rose, really?" Harry said. Rose pouted.

"I couldn't say no, look at his little eyes," Rose gestured to the snake. Ron flinched.

"You're mental," Ron said and then turned to Hermione. She was holding a large orange fur ball in her hands. "More mental than you are." Hermione rolled her eyes.

After Hermione had paid for her new cat, Crookshank, they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley were sitting in the pub reading the paper. On the front was the mug shot of a certain dark hair wizard.

"They still haven't got him yet, dad?" Ron asked.

"No," said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely grave. "They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far."

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Ron. "It'd be good to get some more money -"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," said Mr. Weasley, who on closer inspection looked very strained. "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words." Rose and Harry both shot each other a look and frowned.

At that moment Mrs. Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping bags and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts; the newly elected Head Boy, Percy; and the Weasleys' youngest child and only girl, Ginny.

Ginny promptly dropped her bags and ran to Rose. The small redhead wrapped her arms around the older redhead.

"Good to see you too, Ginny," Rose laughed. Ginny seemed even more attached to Rose and was even more awkward around Harry (probably because they saved her life last year). She barely let out a 'Hello' to him.

As soon as Ginny let go of her, Fred and George held her in a bone crushing hug.

"Splendid to see you, Rose!" One of them said. She couldn't tell who.

"And you too, Harry!" The other said. They finally let her go and stood by her side with their arms around her shoulders.

"Hello, Harry, Rose, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. "I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest as she wrapped an arm around him. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.

"And last," Fred muttered under his breath.

"I don't doubt that," said Mrs. Weasley, frowning suddenly. She glanced at Ron before quickly looking back at the twins. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny giggled, and Rose bit back a smirk.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner..."

He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," he told Harry and Rose. "But Mum spotted us."

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlor, and the seven Weasleys, the Potter twins, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Mr. Weasley. Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" said Percy curiously?

"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them"

"- for Humongous Bighead," said Fred. Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"I work there, they're doing me a favor," said Mr. Weasley,

His voice was casual, but Rose couldn't help noticing that Mr. Weasley's ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was under pressure.

"Good thing, too," said Mrs. Weasley briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground... You are all packed, aren't you?"

Rose nodded her head along with everyone else. Arthur, who was hiding in her sweater, slithered up at the movement. Rose gently and quickly pushed the snake down as he tried to peek his head out from her sweater.

After dinner, everyone returned to their room to sleep. Rose and Harry snuggled up together in one bed for the last time while Lancelot snoozed at their feet.

The next morning, Rose woke up at her usual time at dawn. She showered got dressed, and then summoned Bubble.

"Good morning, m'lady," Bubble greeted her.

"Hello, Bubble," Rose responded. Arthur slithered around her shoulder and peeked up at the elf. The little snake, who was only about six inches long, had enjoyed crawling into Rose's shirts and sweaters and staying there. Rose was a great source of heat.

"M'lady, got a new pet," Bubble said. Gwaine chose this time to wake up and stalk towards Rose. The black cat rubbed against her legs. Bubble giggled.

"C'mon, miss giggles, do you know what you're supposed to do?" Rose asked. Bubble nodded her head eagerly.

"Yes, m'lady," Bubble responded. "Dobby and Bubble is taking Mr. Siry as 'Lot to Hogsmeade laters in the day."

A few hours later, Harry was awake and ready. They sat together in the pub with their trunks and pet cages as they waited for the Weasleys. You could hear the hustle and shouts as the family got ready and sorted out. Hermione quickly came down with her trunk and Crookshank.

As soon as the seven Weasleys came down, two old fashion green cars were waiting outside. Mr. Weasley and the two drivers added him in shoveling all their trunks inside. They all piled into the cars which were charms to be bigger on the inside. Rose had Gwaine on her lap while Arthur laid on her shoulders. Hermione had Crookshank on her lap. Harry had Hedwig in her cage on his lap as well.

They got to Kings Cross quite fast. The Ministry drivers pilled all of their trunks into separate trolleys. Once done they sent a salute to Mr. Weasley and to Harry as well, oddly enough.

They were able to get onto Platform 9 ¾ quite uneventfully. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said bye to them. The mother made sure to give everyone a large hug and a kiss on the cheek including Rose, Harry, and Hermione.

Once they were done, they got into the train as they tried to find a compartment. Fred and George ran off to find Lee Jordon while Ginny wanted to find a friend of hers (someone named Laura or Lola or something).

"How about this one?" Harry asked as they passed a compartment.

"No, I think someone's in there," Rose said. True to her words, there was a man in there dress in shabby robes and fast asleep. A large old truck was placed in the overhead compartment with faint initials of R.J.L.

"Didn't Draco say that we wanted to meet us in the back of the train?" Hermione said. That was true. So they made their way to the back of the train. They opened the last train to find Draco Malfoy sitting comfortably by the window.

"Took you lot long enough," Draco drawled.

"Come here, you little slime ball," Rose beamed as she hugged the blond boy.

"Eh, there's no more gel in my hair," Draco responded as he hugged her.

"He's right," Ron said as he ruffled Draco's hair. Draco frowned and tried to fix his hair again. He didn't have the chance since Hermione attacked him with a hug.

"You've gotten thinner," Hermione commented as she touched his pale cheek. "You need to remember to eat more."

"Nice to see you too," Draco responded. He turned to greet Harry.

"Still short, Scarhead," He teased. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Get over yourself, Malfoy," Harry said lightheartedly.

They all settled down into their seats. They exchanged stories about their summer vacations and everything else they thought important to mention. The trolley lady came by and they purchased their usual treats.

A few hours passed and everyone had dozed off a bit. Rose stayed awake with her head resting against the window.

"Ow," Rose mumbled as she flinched away from the window. The glass turned white as frost covered it. Suddenly there was a jerk, and the train suddenly stopped.

"What the fu-"Ron said as he was thrown across the compartment and landed on Draco's lap.

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?" Draco said as he pushed Ron off him.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

Harry, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"'What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron that was my foot!"

"Draco that's my hair you're holding onto."

"Sorry."

Harry felt his way back to his seat.

"D'you think we've broken down?" That was Rose.

"Dunno..." Rose frowned. Through the darkness she could faintly see Ron wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Harry's legs.

"Sorry - d'you know what's going on? - Ouch – sorry"

"Hullo, Neville," said Harry, feeling around in the dark and pulling Neville up by his cloak.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea - sit down -"

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," came Hermione's voice. Harry felt her pass him, heard the door slide open again, and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron -"

"Come in and sit down -"

"Not here!" said Harry hurriedly. "I'm here!" There was more shuffling.

"Ouch!" said Neville.

"Get off my lap," Draco hissed.

"Sorry." That was Ron.

"Shhh!" Rose hissed at everyone. Suddenly everyone stopped moving. Through the silence they could hear a hissing sound. There was a creaking as the compartment door slid open. Rose quickly held onto the first person she could hold onto.

Then the compartment door slid open.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the frosted window, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Rose felt her stomach twist into knots as she clamp onto whoever it was next to her. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water...

But it was visible only for a split second. As though the creature beneath the cloak sensed their gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. The cold went deeper than her skin. It was inside her chest, it was inside her very heart...

Rose felt like she was drowning into a vat of ice water. She shivered and shook. The only think keeping her warm was the hand she was holding onto.

Then she heard a scream. It was her brother's scream. Every piece of her stood on ends at the sound. She tried to move towards him but felt like shards of ice were holding her back.

Then the screams were replaced by a woman's scream. A flash of green light filled her vision and the screaming got louder and then suddenly died down. She wanted to help whoever that was. She needed to help them… but she was surrounded by fog, a thick fog that clung to her like chains.

Suddenly the cold feeling was gone and it was replaced by a bright, warm light.

Rose opened her eyes to see that, that thing was gone and replaced by it was a man. He stood with his wand pointed out and dressed in long shabby robes. Rose turned to her friends to see them coming back to reality. The only person left was Harry who was lying unconscious on the ground.

Rose fell to the floor, ignoring the fact that she had been holding onto Neville. She grabbed her brother and shook him slightly.

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?" Green eyes fluttered opened and stared back up at her. The lights flickered on.

"Wha?" Harry mumbled. Rose and Ron quickly heaved Harry back onto the compartment chair.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that - that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Hermione.

Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny, Neville, and Draco looked back at him, both very pale.

"I heard the screaming too," Rose said softly. She sat next to her brother and held him tightly.

A loud snap made them all jump. The man in the doorway was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces. He had sandy hair that reached his ears in odd layers. Faded white scars decorated his tan face and he had warm amber colored eyes.

"Here," he said. He handed the slabs of chocolate to everyone in the compartment. He made sure to give Rose and Harry slightly larger chunks. "Eat it. It'll help."

Rose accepted the chocolate and nibbled at it. Harry stared at it solemnly.

"What was that thing?" he asked the man.

"A dementor," he said. "One of the dementors of Azkaban." Rose felt her stomach do flips again. What were those monsters doing anywhere near them?

Everyone stared at him. He crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."

"Wait!" Rose called out as he was about to leave. He turned back to face her. "Who are you?"

The man gave her a small smile.

"Remus Lupin," He answered. "I'm the new Defense against the Dark Arts professor." With that Rose's godfather turned around and made his way to the front of the train.

**I hope you liked this! Please review, favorite, and follow! I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as possible :)****  
**


	15. Boggarts and Hippogriffs

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Please enjoy this chapter, its extra-long: nearly 10,000 words and 21 pages single spaced! Sorry for any errors! : )**

Chapter 15: Boggarts and Hippogriffs

Rose groaned as she threw herself into bed. She was back into the Girl's Slytherin Dormitory with Gwaine asleep at her feet and Arthur laying pleasantly around her neck.

What a day it had been. After she had found out that her long lost godfather was her new professor, they had been stuck inside of the compartment until the end of the train ride. Harry was still shaken up and Rose tried her best to comfort him although she needed comforting herself.

When they finally reached Hogsmeade, they were quick to locate Lancelot as inconspicuously as possible. Thankfully, they were smart enough to have Bubble and Dobby have him already wearing the cloak of Invisibility. It was tricky trying to sneak him onto their carriage without alerting anyone. They made sure to ride with Neville and Ron, the most oblivious out of their friends, since it was only four to a carriage. Lancelot sat invisible on Harry and Rose's lap until they reached the Hogwarts' gates.

They held their breaths as they passed through, but finally relaxed as they entered the school without anything happening. Once they got off the carriage, they had Lancelot make his way to Hagrid's hut with a note attached to his collar: '_Please take care of me.' _They would have him leave the cloak hidden by the hut.

Once all of that was done, Harry and Rose were able to actually enjoy the Sorting and feast.

But of course, all good things had to end when Dumbledore announced their current security situation. Because of the recent escape of one Sirius Black, they had freaking dementors guarding the outside of the school. Great.

Truthfully, Rose was still nervous because all in all it felt too easy. Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place in all of Magical Britain, and they had _dementors _guarding the school! So how did two thirteen year old kids have the ability to sneak in the escaped criminal, Sirius Black? If you asked for Rose's opinion, she would have said that there was someone out there helping them.

Now, she laid on her bed as her dormmates entered the room.

"Psst," Daphne hissed to get her attention. Rose turned to face the blonde girl.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked. Daphne was in her nightgown as well and her honey colored hair was in a loose braid. She looked like a princess from a European fairytale.

"I know someone who likes you," Daphne said smugly. Rose's eyes widen in surprise.

"Who?" She asked as she sat up. Gwaine and Arthur hissed at her movement.

"Can't tell," Daphne responded. Rose frowned.

"Fine! Then I won't tell you who likes you!" Rose lied. Daphne gaped.

"Who? Who?" She asked. Rose smirked and made the silent motion of zipping her lips, locking it, and then throwing the key away.

"Urgh, fine, Rose, it's a fifth year boy," Daphne said. Rose furrowed her eyebrows. A fifth year boy? Was she talking about Fred?

"What house is he in?" Rose asked. Daphne nibbled on her lips and looked at the floor.

"Um, I'm not completely sure. All I heard that he's a prefect," Daphne responded. Rose frowned. So that excludes Fred and George.

"Wait, what do you mean 'you heard'?" Rose asked. Daphne smirked.

"I was eavesdropping _obviously_," Daphne said. "My mum taught me how to do that when I was younger." Rose rolled her eyes. Of course all of her housemates were being trained to be spies as small children. Typical.

"So who likes me?" Daphne asked as she batted her eyelashes sweetly.

"I lied," Rose replied. She turned around and went to bed.

"Of fucking course," Daphne grumbled. "Sometimes, I really hate this house." Rose laughed at her comment.

The next morning, Rose was reviewing her class schedule. She ignored the fact that Draco's head was resting on her shoulder. He was half asleep after another noisy night with Crabbe and Goyle's snoring. Daphne was sitting next to her as she chattered on.

"So like there are like four prefect boys in their fifth year," Daphne said. "There's Lucas Bellus-Puer in our dorm, Dan Radkliph is in Gryffindor, Cedric Diggory is a Hufflepuff, and Jake Cerebrum is a Ravenclaw." Rose smiled at her friend, and pretended to listen. She went back to her schedule.

Monday, she had Ancient Runes and Transfiguration in the morning and double Herbology in the afternoon. Tuesday was History of Magic and Potions in the morning with double Charms in the afternoon. Wednesday was care of Magical Creatures and DADA in the morning and Astronomy at midnight. On Thursday she only had Herbology and double Transfiguration after lunch. Finally on Friday, she had DADA and Charms and double Potions in the afternoon.

"But Dan Radkliph is dating Bonnie Wright so it can't be him," Daphne said.

"Mhhm," Rose said.

"Bellus-Puer is gay," Draco added as he got off her shoulder.

"Really?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, but don't tell his parents. They're expecting pureblooded heirs," Draco said with a snort. He began to stir cubes of sugar into his tea.

"So that leaves Diggory and Cerebrum," Daphne said.

"Ravenclaw or the Hufflepuff," Draco said as he took a sip of his tea. "Wait, why are we talking about this again?"

"Because according to Daphne one of them like me," Rose explained. That didn't seem to bother Draco. His secret crush for Rose had fizzled out last year when Rose was sick and sneezed on him so hard that he felt like he was covered in troll boogies.

"Five galleons on Cerebrum," Draco said.

"You know what! I'll take that, five galleons on Diggory," Daphne responded. The two shook hands in agreement. Rose rolled her eyes again and sighed. She should have had breakfast with the Gryffindors.

At that moment, the Gryffindors decided to enter the Great Hall. It was obvious that Hermione had dragged the two reluctant boys out of bed by the state of their disheveled uniforms and Hermione's wagging finger. Rose watched as the trio sat down at the scarlet table. Harry tried in vain to straighten out the wrinkles in his button down shirt and robes. Hermione took pity on him and waved her wand which ironed out his clothing. She did the same to Ron once he started to pout.

She also noticed Neville enter quickly behind them. He grown over the summer as well. It seemed as if all of his baby fat was replaced by his new found height which had him nearly the same size as Ron. Yet, Neville was slightly hunched like he either did not appreciate being tall or simply ignored it. Hermione casted the same spell on his robes when she saw him.

"They're such cuties," Rose cooed as she placed her schedule down.

"If you think being dependent on other people is endearing," Draco remarked.

"Well, I find you endearing," She replied.

"That's different! I'm endearing because of my dashing looks and sparkling personality," Draco said as he flipped the non-existent hair over his shoulder.

"Or something," Daphne snorted.

"Wait, look," Rose hushed the two. She directed their attention to their new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher who had just entered the Great Hall. Professor Lupin wore amber colored robes with green and yellow patches in various areas. His sandy blond hair was limp and wet from a morning shower.

"Isn't he supposed to be your godfather or something?" Draco asked. Rose nodded her head, deciding not to ask where he had gotten his information.

"Are you going to confront him about it?" Daphne said.

"Of course, not," Rose replied as she reached for her bag. "Let him do all of the confronting. C'mon, let's get to class.

Moments later, Rose was climbing the many stairs that led to the Ancient Runes. They had left Daphne with the Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were traveling up one of the many towers towards the Divination classroom. Draco had gone the other direction to his Muggle Studies class.

"Wait up!"

She whipped her head around, just in time to watch Hermione come bouncing up the stair case with a stack of books in her arms and her chestnut hair swinging around.

"Don't you have Divination right now?" Rose asked as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"No? What are you talking about?" Hermione said quickly. "C'mon we're gonna be late!" She dashed between them to the classroom. As she did, Rose notice a flash of gold at Hermione's neck.

They made their way to the classroom, and were met with Ancient Runes Professor standing at the door. The woman was short with a filled out figure that was hidden beneath ivory robes. Curly wisps of brown hair stuck out of her loose bun while a pair of round glasses balanced on her nose.

Rose decided to sit in the front row of seats with Hermione. Once the class filled up, Professor Babbling quickly begun by writing runes and symbols on the chalk board.

"Now, we it comes to writing runes, it is essential that you make sure to always write with hands and not with your wands. By doing so physically you strength the magically connection between you and your symbols. Using you wand would create a third barrier that only hinders your work," Professor Babbling babbled on as she continued to write. The rest of the class continued on, and the teacher talk about the pronunciation of many runes and radicals.

To be honest, Rose thought it was extremely boring. Yet, she convinced herself that it would get better later on once they applied magic to the runes. The class ended fifty minutes later, and they made their way downstairs.

"Um, I'll be right back," Hermione said quickly as she ran off in a different direction. Rose frowned. Something didn't seem right. A few seconds later, Hermione came back down those stairs however she had Draco with her this time.

"So is that how muggle school systems work?" Draco was asking her.

"Yes, but that's just the British one," Hermione explained. Rose raised an eyebrow, and shot Hermione a look. She ignored it.

"Oh, there you are Hermione," Harry said as he, Ron, and Daphne came back from their own class. Draco pressed his lips together and shot Rose a look. Rose returned it with a nod in agreement.

"How was Divination?" Rose asked.

"Bloody bollocks," Ron grumbled. "Professor Trelawney predicted Harry's ."

"Yeah, just because he saw some dog omen in his teacup," Daphne added. Harry's cheek went red.

"It wasn't really a big deal, right Hermione?" Harry said. Rose raised an eyebrow as she gave Hermione a look. What would Hermione know about a class she could not have possible been attending? Hermione seemed to have noticed Rose's stare because she simply shrugged her shoulders as an answer.

"Don't worry about some brawny teacher," Draco assured as he clapped Harry on the back. "Besides if we needed to know that you had a death sentence, we could have just talked with my dad." Only Draco and Daphne laughed at that.

"But, it could be a grim, and if Harry's seen a Grim, that's - that's bad," Ron said. "My - my uncle Bilius saw one and - and he died twenty-four hours later!"

"Coincidence," said Hermione airily.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, starting to get angry.

"It's true though, they scare the living day light out of most wizards," Daphne added.

"There you are, then," said Hermione in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"

"It's not like he saw a grim anyway," Draco said. "Right, Harry?" Everyone turned to look at Harry who was interested in a lovely crack in the wall.

"Enough of this nonsense," Rose interrupted them. "We're going to be late to class!"

There next class was transfiguration. Afterwards, lunch was waiting for them. Rose decided instead to take a nap in her dormitory while everyone ate.

She flopped onto her bed, and kicked off her shoes. Rose pulled out her potions book, and skimming through the pages that she had already reviewed dozens of times. Gwaine jumped up to the bed and rubbed his face against her legs. At that moment, Arthur came slithering through a crack in the wall. The little black snake plopped onto her pillow and hissed a greeting at her.

"_Did you find the Gryffindor tower?"_ She asked him.

"_Yesss, I usssed the pipesss, and followed the red one's ssscent," _Arthur answered.

"_Good, but did you find the rat?" _Rose asked. The snake slumped his head down.

"_Ssssssssorry, missstressss, the rat wasss not there," _He replied. Rose frowned. If Scabbers is not in the Gryffindor boy's dormitory than where could he be? She was really hoping that she could have had this over with quickly.

"_It's okay, it's alright," _Rose petted Arthur. Looks like they'll need to find Pettigrew now.

"Rose!" The door to the dormitory swung open, and Draco entered the room.

"Why didn't you go to lunch?" He asked as he headed towards her bed.

"Draco, how did you get up here?" Rose asked. "The staircase is enchanted."

"It's cute, that you think that I haven't found a way to overcome that by now," Draco chuckled. "Now move over." Rose scooted over and Draco sat next to her on the bed. She leaned against him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Was Hermione in your Muggle Studies class?" Rose asked. It wasn't a question since she already knew the answer.

"Yes, and I bet she was in your Ancient Runes class as well." Rose nodded her head. She turned her head to look up at Draco. Strands of blond hair fell over his forehead, and piercing blue eyes stared back at her.

"I really do like your hair like this," Rose mumbled. Draco smiled and lightly touched the top of his head.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure Hermione has a time turner," He said.

"Wait, what?" Rose had a puzzled look. "What's a time turner?"

"It's a powerful magical artifact that allows the user to go back several hours in time," Draco explained. Rose gasped.

"That must be how Hermione's been able to take three classes at the same time." Rose sat up and crossed her arms across her chest. "What are we going to do about it?"

"We'll keep her secret," Draco said. "For now, at least."

"Yeah, keep it for a rainy day," Rose laughed. "But if it's such a powerful object, why did they give it to a thirteen year old girl."

"How would I know?" Draco shrugged. "The ministry has done dumber things." His eyes flickered to the silver watch around his wrist. "C'mon, we're going to have to get to class." Rose groaned.

"Merlin, it's not even one o'clock and I'm already sick of going to classes," She huffed as she followed Draco out of the dormitory.

Somewhere on a different part of the school, a large gray rat scurried down a flight of stairs. He shot his little head up and looked around. He sniffed the air. Then he hopped onto a window sill and sniffed again.

Damnit.

He can't go outside the castle. How the hell did that mutt get to Hogwarts? Wasn't he stuck in Azkaban? He could bet his tail that those twins had something to do with this. But where could he stay? He can't go back to the Gryffindor dormitory or the Potter boy would get him. The dungeons were out of the question because the Potter girl would notice her. He was trapped.

The rat made a clicking sound and scurried away into a hole in the wall. He would stay hidden there for a few months, only coming out to feed on scraps.

The next day arrived, and we find our main characters sitting together eating breakfast at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"I'm telling you, guys, I can't find Scabbers anywhere!" Ron exclaimed. He sat beside Harry while Draco and Hermione sat across from them. "I bet your stupid cat ate him, Hermione."

"My cat would never eat your disgusting rat, Ronald!" Hermione fumed as she shot him a look.

"Calm down, guys, Scabbers is probably hiding somewhere in the castle, right Draco?" Harry said, in attempt to sedate his friends. It would also be extremely bad for their plan if Scabbers got gobbled by Crookshank.

"I honestly have no interest in what happens to a rat," Draco said seriously. He pushed his eggs around on his plate with a fork. "Why don't you just get a new pet? One that's more useful."

"I would if I could," Ron sighed. He stuck another piece of sausage into his mouth.

"I can just get you one, Ron," Draco said. "What do you want? An owl, toad, cat?" Ron sputtered, and choked on his sausage. Harry started patting him on his back.

"Draco, I think Ron's okay without a new pet," Hermione assured him. Draco shrugged, oblivious to what had occurred.

"Wait, where's Rose? Don't we have class in a few minutes?" Harry asked.

"She said she's skipping her morning class," Draco answered.

"What! Why would she do such a think? Doesn't she know she could get in trouble for that and her education would be at risk?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Relax, It's just a History of Magic," Draco responded.

"Oh, then that's okay," Ron said. "I wish I had that class in the morning too then."

"No! It's not okay," Hermione said. "She's gonna get detention, house points taken away, and bad marks!"

"She sleeps in the class anyway," Harry said. "And she never actually correctly completes any assignment."

"That's beside the point, "Hermione said firmly. "She has no sense of authority because she lacks a strong parental figure. She thinks that she can come up with her own set of rules just because she thinks she's cunning! If she keeps acting like this she's going to end never following any instructions that she doesn't like. And, then she's going to get into trouble that she won't be able to trick herself out of." She said in one large breath as if she had been contemplating it for a long time.

"Well, we had our aunt and uncle," Harry defended.

"Yes, but did she ever actually respect them?" Hermione responded. Harry sighed and shook his head. "See, what she needs is someone to look up to, someone who she can respect."

"Maybe we can get her godfather to do that," Draco joked. They all looked up at Professor Lupin who was having a polite conversation with Professor Sprout.

"Has one of you guys spoken with him yet?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head.

"Well, we all have his class tomorrow, so we'll talk to him then," Hermione said. With mumblings of agreements, the four left the Great Hall and went to their first class.

In a different part of the castle, Rose was lying in bed flipping through pages of a magazine. She yawned, and her eyelids fluttered closed. She had an hour before potions class. A little nap wouldn't hurt anyone.

_Rose was floating in water. The green liquid was thick and salty. Her eyes stung but she could still see. There was a small girl next to her with long silver hair. The girl seemed unconscious, and there was another person next to her. But this one was boy and seemed to have orange hair. She turned to her left and saw another girl. This one had large curly brown hair. Wait, was that Hermione? She didn't have a chance to inspect any further. The water began to swirl and the current strengthen. Rose tried to swim, but she couldn't. Something was keeping her tied down. _

_Suddenly, a figure drifted into her view. It looked like some sort of water astronauts with a large bubble over his head. Slowly, he swam towards Rose. Was he going to save her? She tried to move again, but she was paralyzed. The water astronaut came closer. But he went towards the girl she thought was Hermione. Once he got a hold of her, they swam away. Rose tried to open her mouth to yell for them. Her lips felt like they were glued shut. She kept on trying and struggling until finally her lips popped open. She started to scream and shout, but no noise came out. Instead water came pouring into her lungs. She choked and coughed yet the water continued to flow. Her vision started to go dark and her limbs went numb. _

Suddenly, something hard hit the back of her head. She opened her eyes and sat up in a jolt. Oh Merlin, she was just in her dormitory again, and she was lying floor next to her bed. '_I must have rolled off the bed from that nightmare,' _Rose thought. She quickly got up and fixed her uniform. She checked the clock. _'Thank Merlin's bread, I still have ten minutes before class.' _Quickly, she got her school bag and ran out of the Slytherin dormitory. Maybe the whole green underwater theme was what gave her the weird dream.

A few minutes later, Rose was standing outside the potion's classroom.

"Hey Rose, what are you doing here?" George asked as him, Fred, and a bunch of other Gryffindor fifth years came down the hallway.

"I'm taking this class too," She responded. The twins smiled. Before the twins could respond, the dungeon doors swung open. Snape stood there with his arms crossed and his usual sneer.

"Enter," He growled. Quickly, the fifth years and Rose filled into the class room and took their seats. Rose sat next to some Slytherin fifth year girl.

"This year of potions will be your hardest," Snape said as he started his usual 'welcoming' speech. "It will weed out those of you who are incapable performing efficiently. As you all know, I only accept 'Outstanding' OWLS into my NEWT level class." Some people sniffled at that. "With your partners, I expect you to complete a vial of a Draught of Peace." He swished his wand, and the instructions appeared on the blackboard.

Fifty minutes later, Rose and her partner had completed their potions. Naturally, Rose's vial was near to perfection since she had already practiced the potion over break. She went up to Professor Snape's desk, and placed the vial onto the rack.

"Ms. Potter, would you stay after once class is dismissed," Professor Snape said as he looked over his papers. It wasn't a question. With a frown, Rose returned to her seat. She waited a few minutes as everyone exited the classroom. Fred and George gave her a sympathetic look as they left. Once the room was empty, Rose went back to Snape's desk.

"I've been informed that you've decided to skip your morning class," He said. Snape looked up at her and gave her a hard look. Rose looked down. "You must understand that I will not tolerate any display of arrogance or disobedience from my house." He paused. "Especially from you, Rose." Her name sounded foreign in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Rose apologized. Crap. It was only a bloody class of History of Magic. Who snitched on her?

"I will be taking twenty points from Slytherin for this," Snape continued. She suppressed a groan. Leave it to her, to be the only Slytherin that loses house points from Snape. "You will also have detention tomorrow night with Professor Lupin." Rose looked up.

"Wait, why Professor Lupin?" She asked. Snape had a sour look as if saying _and _hearing the name had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"He was the one who informed me of this," Snape responded. He went back to grading his papers. Rose picked up her school bag and made her way to the door.

"Enjoy the rest of you day, Professor," Rose said in a snippy tone as she slammed the door shut.

"As to you, Ms. Potter," Snape said with a roll of his eyes. Teenaged girls could be temperamental.

Fast forward to the next day, a group years were making their way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. For their first class of the day, they all arrived outside of Hagrid's hut.

"This bloody book!" Draco grumbled as he tightened a rope around the Book of Monsters textbook.

He was not having a good day. First of all, he woke up late because his stupid alarm clock forgot to ring. Then he slipped orange juice all over his robes when an owl landed in his morning meal. Then his Care for Magical Creature textbook decided to nearly sever his arm when he tried to take it out of his school bag. And to top it off, the weather decided to make today the hottest day of September. He had his robe off, tie loosened, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, but he was still sweating bullets.

Besides him, Rose, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in a similar state. They had all removed their robes and rolled over their sleeves. Hermione and Rose had both pulled down their knee high socks to their ankles while Rose used her school tie to put back her hair. Ron had his tie also around his head.

Hagrid was waiting for the class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start. He also had another dog next to him. This one was nearly as large as Fang, but was a bright yellow color. He barked at Rose and Harry, and wagged his tail.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

For one nasty moment, everyone thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it - make sure yeh can see - now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books -"

"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated through gritted teeth and flashed his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters and the rope around it. Rose sighed and decided she was too tired to try to calm Draco down. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Harry and Rose, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

"Hasn' - hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look -"

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess?" Rose nudged him hard in his side. He ignored her.

"Shhh!" She hissed at him.

"I - I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Draco," said Harry quietly. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so - so yeh've got yer books an' - an' - - now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on... "

"Draco! Be polite to Hagrid. He's trying his best," Rose scolded the blond boy. He simply rolled his eyes and grumbled beneath his breath.

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Rose had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Rose could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was, half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer -"

No one seemed to want to. Harry, Rose, Ron, and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously. Rose dragged Draco with them.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.

"Right - who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away in answer. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.

"I'll do it," said Harry.

There was an intake of breath from behind him, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered, "Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!"

"Rubbish," Rose heard Hermione mumble.

Harry ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "Right then - let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath.

"Easy, now, Harry," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."

Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut them. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye. "Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Harry... now, bow."

He gave a short bow and then looked up.

The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.

"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried. "Right - back away, now, Harry, easy does it

But then, to Harry's enormous surprise, the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right - yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.

The class broke into applause.

"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him!"

This was more than Harry had bargained for. Rose could see him getting nervous.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that..."

Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure where to hold on; everything in front of him was covered with feathers.

"Go on, then'" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriffs hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, he just had time to seize the hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward.

Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; this was the bit Harry had been dreading; he leaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling he was going to slip off over the beak, then felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground. He just managed to hold on and push himself straight again.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid as everyone cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Harry watched.

Rose went towards a dark colored one. It had glossy feathers along with a smooth grey beak and piercing eyes. She kept the eye contract, and tried not to look away. She waited a moment before bowing. Before Rose could do anything else, a scream rang through the class.

Everyone turned to see Draco lying on the floor clutching his arm while Buckbeak backed away. The class got closer to the scene, and Buckbeak got frightened. He ran back into the forest.

"Someone help me - gotta get him outta here -" Hagrid said as he rushed towards Draco.

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Rose saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle. She quickly ran after him.

A few minutes later, Draco was lying in a cot at the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey was tending to his arm. Rose stood by his bedside.

"This's what happens when you're cranky, you idiot," Rose said in a soft tone as she gripped Draco's free hand.

"Will you ever forgive me?" Draco pouted at her. She laughed.

"You've just hurt yourself, how could I say no?" She responded with a smile.

"Mh Hm," Madame Pomfrey cleared her throat. "You all patched up now dear, just keep the sling on for the next few days." The two Slytherins thanked the Healer, and made their way to their next class.

Because Hagrid had ended class early, they were only a few minutes late to Defense against the Dark Arts. When the entered the class room, Professor Lupin had not arrived yet. They sat in same side of the class as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Are you okay, mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Draco responded. "Too bad, I can't write now."

"Don't worry! I'll copy down your notes for you," Hermione said.

"And I can help you carry your books," Harry offered. Draco smirked at all the attention he was getting. Rose could fix that.

"Just remember, that it was Draco's fault that Buckbeak was startled," She said. Before anyone could respond and Draco could protest, Professor Lupin entered the classroom dragging a large wardrobe behind him.

"Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts! My name is Professor Lupin," He announced. Chalk levitated as he spoke and began to write his name on the blackboard. "Now, could you all form a line between the desks?" With questionable looks, the Gryffindors and Slytherins did as they were told. Lupin flicked his wand and all the desks flew to the walls.

"Now, then," said Professor Lupin. The wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks - I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand.

"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. Rose rolled her eyes. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.

"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's 'mall sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Rose?"

Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to her, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but Rose ignored it.

"Because there are so many of us, sir, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed. Rose mimicked her expression. The only other teacher to have ever outright drawn attention to herself was Snape, and even when he did it, it was subtle. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake - tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening.

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please ... Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" said the class together.

"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Professor Lupin cheerfully.

Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape... hmmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er - yes," said Neville nervously. "But - I don't want the boggart to turn into her either." Laughter erupted in the class again.

"No, no, you misunderstand me," said Professor Lupin, now smiling. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

Neville looked startled, but said, "Well... always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress... green, normally... and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" prompted Professor Lupin.

"A big red one," said Neville.

"Right then," said Professor Lupin. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," said Neville uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And you will raise your wand - thus - and cry 'Riddikulus' - and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more violently. Rose frowned.

"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," said Professor Lupin. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."

The room went quiet. 'What scares me most in the world?' Rose thought.

Her first thought was of her brother lying near to death in the Chamber of Secrets. How black basilisk venom pumped into his system or how his green eyes dimmed and fluttered closed. How she could hear his last breath as he told her that he loved her.

Then, she remembered her nightmare. Rose remembered how she hung suspended in the murky green water. The way it surged through her throat and suffocated her.

Rose shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Ron was muttering to himself,

"Take its legs off" Ron's greatest fear was spiders.

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin.

Rose felt a lurch of fear. She wasn't ready, and by the way Harry was looking, neither was he. Hidden by everyone and their robes, Rose reached for his hand. His grip tightened around hers.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot -"

They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One two - three - now!"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.

Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"R- riddikulus!" squeaked Neville.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted,

"Parvati! Forward!" And they continued. After her, Seamus and Dean went next. Then it was Ron's turn.

Ron leapt forward.

Crack!

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then -

"Riddikulus!" bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over like a bowling ball. It landed in front of Rose. Everyone went silent as they waited for the Boggart to transform. Rose held up her wand in anticipation.

Everyone gasped.

The boggart had transformed into a small green puddle.

People began to snicker. But they were quickly silenced. The puddle began to expand and surround Rose. Then it rose up and encased her body, flowing up her knees to her waist. She dropped her wand into the 'water.'

"Riddikulus!" Harry called out.

Crack! The 'water' melted to the ground and became a large white snowball. It rolled off towards Harry. The boggart began to rise up and turn black. It was about to form into a shape of something when Professor Lupin jumped in front of Harry.

Crack!

The boggart changed into a white sphere surrounded by wisps of smoke.

"Riddikulus!" Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the sphere and it deflated and fly away like a balloon back into the cupboard.

"Well then," Lupin said as he placed one hand on his hip and scratched the back of his ear with the other. "Excellent, wasn't it? Five points for everyone who faced the boggart, and five points to Hermione and Rose."

"But I never did anything," Rose complained. Her eyes narrowed at Lupin. He smiled at her glare.

"Well, you answered my question correctly earlier," He said cheerfully. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me... to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

The class left with a murmur of excitement. Everyone was talking about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and how wonderful he was. Except for the Slytherins of course who kept all their opinions to themselves. Rose decided to do the same. She crossed her arms and reflected about the new teacher.

"So, bloody Potter is afraid of a little puddle, isn't she?" came the shrill voice of Pansy Parkinson. All the Slytherins were heading towards the dungeons before lunch. It was truly intriguing how similar her voice was the Aunt Petunia.

"Would you prefer if I was afraid of you face, Parkinson? Because I have good reason to be," Rose responded without even turning to look at her. She didn't need to see Pansy's glare to know that it was there. Besides her, Draco and Daphne snickered.

"Well, at least my hair doesn't look like it were through a tornado." Pansy replied, but she trailed off as Professor McGonagall came up the stairs from the dungeons. She looked irked and was muttering beneath her breath. She must have went down to speak to Professor Snape.

"Good afternoon, students," McGonagall said through pursed lips. They didn't even try to respond as she hurried away back to her own office. They returned to their common room and went up the steps to their dormitories to dump their school books.

"Ooh! Rose what's this?" Tracey Davis said in a mocking tone. She was dangling a silver watch in her hand that she had picked up from Rose's bed. "Doesn't this belong to Draco? Why's it in your bed, huh?"

"What?" Rose said. She turned away from her book bag to look at Tracey. All the girls in the dorm were looking at her. Daphne had one eyebrow cocked up along with a coy smile. Pansy looked like she was ready to rib Rose apart from jealousy. Millicent simply had an amused look on her face.

"Yeah, that's Draco's," Rose said defensively as she tore the watch from Tracey's grip. Her cheeks were bright red. "He was here a few days ago. Must have left his watch behind." She slipped the accessory into her robe pocket.

"Oh, it's just interesting that he would be up here anyway," Tracey said coolly.

"And that it's in your bed," Millicent added with a look matching Tracey's. Rose huffed. She grabbed her bag and stomped out of the room. As she left Tracey and Millicent erupted in giggles. Pansy had turned an ugly shade of red, and Daphne was following after her.

"Don't listen to those banshees," Daphne consoled. Draco was waiting in the common room for them. "They're just jealous that you have so many friends that are guys."

"Whatever," Rose said. She had a headache. Her mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of Lupin and the stupid detention tonight, and the nightmare from yesterday was still bugging her out. "Here take your stupid watch." She jammed it into Draco's uninjured hand, and stormed out of the Slytherin common room.

It was quite a walk to get from the dungeons to Gryffindor tower, but it gave her time to calm down. Why was she so angry, anyway? She couldn't even remember.

"Leon dearg," Rose said to the portrait of the Fat Lady who sneered at her green robes. Reluctantly, the large frame swung open to reveal the warm red and gold common room. It was empty since everyone was out to lunch. Rose quickly found third year boys' dormitory and went up the staircase. Inside of the room, five four poster beds curved around the circular room with a pewter furnace in the center of it. Rose quickly found Harry's bed which had his trunk in front of it. She laid down in his bed (which wasn't made), and sighed. She tossed and turned in his bed, groaning. Why was feeling like crap?

_Are you worried about Sirius? _No, he's safe with Hagrid.

_Harry?_ Well, she was always worried about him, but besides that there wasn't an immediate danger.

_Snape? Maybe Lupin? _Snape would be fine. He was just a bit pissy about her being caught for skipping class.

And Lupin…Well, she couldn't figure out how she felt about him. Rose truly wanted to like him. He was her godfather after all, and one of the few connections she had to her parents. Yet a part of her wasn't ready to accept him. It filled her with a white rage, to know that all this time someone was out there for her. It was different with Sirius, or Alice Longbottom or even bloody Joanne Kathleen MacDougal. They didn't have a choice on whether or not they could take care of their godchildren. Alice Longbottom went mentally ill, Sirius was thrown into Azkaban, and MacDougal _died_. But Remus _fucking _J. Lupin wasn't dead or locked up. The bloody bloke was just roaming the damn country side, not even giving two flying shits about her and her brother. No, it wasn't as if their parents were murdered and they were forced to live with the two of the most hateful people in the muggle world.

"Git," Rose mumbled as she rolled onto her side. She faced Harry's bedside table. On it was a picture frame. Inside were two pictures placed on top of each other. The top was taken from their parents' photo album. It was of their parents dancing around in a park with their Gryffindor scarfs wrapped tightly around their necks. Beneath was a photo of Rose and Harry, imitating their parents' by dancing around in a park in London from the previous summer.

It made Rose smiled.

Somewhere in the distant British countryside was a tall lean manor. It resembled a modern castle with its sleek design and grey stone walls. Surrounding the manor were fields of fresh green grass where rare and exotic animals roamed. The favorite were snow white peacocks that pranced around as pompously as their owners.

Inside one of the many parlors, sat a tragically beautiful lady. Her soft blonde hair was pulled into curls that cascaded down her silk blue robes. They were imported from France, naturally. In her manicured hands was a letter. Written in a disgusting shade of pink ink on perfumed stationary, was a letter from Pansy Parkinson. Narcissa was definitely not a fan of that dreadful girl nor could she stand her mother. However a true lady was polite to all, and a true Slytherin knew when _not _to cut off certain ties.

Here was the ramblings of a teenaged girl absolutely infatuated by her son. And who wouldn't be? He was _her _son after all. Pansy wrote about their Care of Magical Creatures class and how apparently a large oaf allowed her son to be injured by a dangerous monster. Narcissa would have to tell her husband about this. You can never miss opportunities like these to claim a sort of power over others. She continued to skim through the letter. You would think that school would teach their students to write coherently. Pansy's writing was appalling!

_Hm, what this? _Narcissa thought as she examined a certain passage.

_"Anyway, Mrs. Malfoy, then today, Tracey found DRACO'S WATCH in POTTER'S BED! How outrageous?! When Tracey confronted her, Potter said that apparently, Draco was in the girls' dormitory in POTTER'S BED! I do not have a good feeling about this Potter girl, Mrs. Malfoy. She is obviously trying to force herself onto poor Draco! They're always walking together, and giggling, and hugging! She's despicable!"_

_Hm, well isn't that interesting? _Narcissa thought as she stirred her tea.

"Rose Potter," She said, tasting how the name felt on her tongue. The girl did come from a prestige family. The Potter name was as old as the Malfoys and the Blacks. And she would also come with a lovely lump sum of wealth since the girl and her brother had inherited all of the Potter vaults. Her cousin had also left them all of the Black's vaults and titles. The girl could become a valuable wife to any man. Much better than Parkinson could ever dream of being.

"Very interesting," Narcissa murmured beneath her breath.

"This is what you get for skipping class," Hermione reprimanded for the umpteenth time. They were all seated at the Gryffindor table eating dinner. Hermione spoke behind a large textbook. It was only the third day of classes and the girl was already up to her nose with homework. Rose ignored her (again) and continued to cut up Draco's steak. She was too upset with the curly haired girl to remind her to also eat her own dinner.

"It's only with Professor Lupin, right?" Harry asked. Rose nodded her head.

"At least it's not with Flich or Professor Snape," Ron added through a mouth of mashed potatoes and steak.

"I like Snape," Rose muttered beneath her breath. Draco heard her and chuckled.

"You really should respect _all _of your class," Hermione continued. "You can't just pick and choose which one you like."

"Rubbish, there isn't a way you could respect Trelawney," Ron said. Hermione huffed. Harry laughed.

"I swear, if all five of us get stuck living together in small quarters," Draco mumbled to Rose. "Actually cut off my arm."

"Gladly," Rose replied.

More time passed, and Rose found herself standing outside of Professor Lupin. There was an odd sensation dwelling in the pit of her stomach. She raised her fist and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in," a gentle voice called through the wood. She opened the door. Inside, Professor Lupin sat behind a simple wooden desk with stacks of parchments on it along with a cup filled with quills. The walls were bare expect for a creaky bookshelf filled with ancient books. In front of his desk was a shabby armchair.

"Please come sit," Lupin said gesturing to the armchair. Rose took small steps towards the chair. She examine the cushion and nearly every stich before sitting down. A silence settled over them that was only punctured by Professor Lupin's quill scratching away at the parchment.

"Is there something that you would like me to do?" Rose asked finally. Lupin looked up at her. His light brown eyes seemed to be puzzled by her. "_Sir," _She added. Lupin gently placed his quill down and rolled up the parchment in front of him.

"It would be great if you could help me move some of those books over there to the classroom," He said. In the corner of the room were old boxes stacked on top of each other. Books were nearly busting out of the cardboard. "Whoever was the last teacher emptied out all of those bookcases and filled them with rubbish about some barmy blond bloke." Rose stifled a snort. That sounded just like Lockhart.

Without speaking a word, Rose followed Lupin out of his office. He used his wand to levitate the boxes out of the room and down the stairs to the classroom. Rose frowned. If he could use magic to levitate the boxes down then why did she have to put the books away by hand?

"It's difficult to organize the books by magic," Lupin said as if reading her mind. "It will put them away but not in any particular order." Rose nodded her head, and opened the first box. They began putting the books away, organizing them by alphabetically by the author's last name, and by year level.

Every now and then, Professor Lupin would look up at her. He would open his mouth as if about to speak, but then quickly close it. Rose pretended she didn't see him. Did he actually think that after twelve years he could just walk back into her life and except her to acknowledge him like he was an old friend? Absolutely not. She would be polite but only to a certain point, treating him how she treated Professor Babbling or Professor Sinistra. No more, no less.

The clock struck its bell, ringing eight times. Professor Lupin looked up at the sound.

"I guess, that's it for the detention," He said. There was still one more box of books left. "I'll take care of the rest. You should get along before curfew, and get some rest. You have astronomy tonight, don't you?"

"Yes, thank you Professor," Rose responded stoically. She badly wanted to know why and how Professor Lupin knew her schedule so well. Or how he was able to tell that she skipped History of Magic on Tuesday. She wanted to know who he was. How did he know her parents? Why was he so close to them? Why did he never look for her after their death? Rose wanted to know everything and anything about this man. But, she grabbed her bag and hurried out of the classroom.

**….**

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	16. Cliffs and Prince Charming

Chapter 16: Cliffs and Prince Charming

A grey rat poked his head out of a hole in the wall, and it sniffed the air. He looked around. The corridors were empty of any intruders. The rodent scurried out of the hole and to the nearest window. Its fat body swung itself up onto the wall. It flopped as it searched for a crevice to stick its claws into. It plopped onto window still. Minutes passes as it tried to catch its breath. The window had a prefect view of Hagrid's hut. The rat watched as a pair of students walked towards the hut. The tallest had a red and gold scarf wrapped around his neck while the shortest had a green and silver scarf swathed around her face. When they reached the entrance of the hut, a large yellow German Shepard ambushed them. It knocked them down to the floor and assaulted their faces with licks and wet kisses.

At the sight of the trio, the fat rodent threw itself of the window still and ran back into the hole in the wall. He was not going to die today because of a bit of window watching.

On the other side of the window, the shrieks and laughter of children filled the air.

"C'mon Lancelot, you're getting my scarf all wet!" Rose giggled as the large dog placed kissed all over her face. Harry laughed next to her. Lancelot eventually got off them and barked.

"Is Hagrid in there?" Harry asked. Lancelot shook his head. Together, the three of them entered the hut. Rose carefully closed the door behind them while Harry sat down on the couch. Lancelot quickly crawled beneath piles of furs and blankets that were on Hagrid's bed. A moment later, Sirius Black emerged from the blankets with a head full of bottle blond hair. He kept the majority of the blankets and furs covering him for the sake of modesty. There were children after all.

"How have you been, pups?" Sirius asked. As a response, the two went and hugged him tightly.

"Fine," Rose said as they sat back down. "Though we've been having a hard time locating Scabbers."

"Yeah, he's not in the boys' dormitory any more, and Ron says he hasn't seen him since the first day of school." Harry added.

"Merlin, I wish we had the Marauder's Map," Sirius huffed. Harry and Rose cocked their head to the side in unison. It was creepy.

"What's the Marauder's Map?" they asked simultaneously. Okay, that was creepier.

"Please don't do that anymore," Sirius said. "Anyway, the Marauder's Map is a piece of parchment that we created when we were children. It has a complete map of Hogwarts and shows you everyone in the castle at any given time."

"Whoa, that would be bloody useful," Rose said. _Imagine all the things we could find out about other people, _she thought.

"It's brilliant," Harry said. _Imagine how many new places we could explore, _he thought. _"_How did you guys make it?"

"We made in our fifth year after we became animaguses ," Sirius told them. "We got Remus to sneak out a ton of books on charms since he was a Prefect. We used the Homonculous charm, but only James was able to cast it because it was so advanced. But then, _I _casted a brilliant charm on it that would repel any intruders in the most insulting of ways." He was smiling at something as if his explanation had brought back good memories.

"Did you hear that Professor Lupin is our new DADA teacher?" Harry said.

"Oh, yeah. I heard a bunch of Hufflepuffs talking about him before. Heard he's ace as a teacher," Sirius responded enthusiastically. Rose pressed her lips tightly together.

"Mmh," she mumbled. Rose decided that now was not the time to express her resent towards Remus Lupin, especially after hearing the loving tone Sirius used to address Lupin.

"I had tea with him yesterday," Harry said. He directed his comment to Sirius. Rose surpassed a frown and placed an impassive expression on her face. _Harry never told me about this,_ Rose thought. "We talked about dementors and then Snape came in-"

"Professor Snape," Rose found herself saying. Harry rolled his eyes.

"_Professor _Snape-," he continued. "Came in to give Professor Lupin a potion to drink. I think he might be trying to poison him." This time, Rose actually frowned.

"Of course, that fucking git," Sirius snarled as he glared at the ground.

"Hey, there's no reason to assume such a thing," Rose reproached. "Professor Snape is the Potion Master of the school. It shouldn't be suspicious or wrong that he would giving him a potion."

"Yeah, but Professor Snape has always wanted to Defense Against the Dark Arts positions since he became a teacher here," Harry added. Rose swallowed. She was _not _going to have a fucking fight with her brother about Lupin or Snape. She was not in the mood for this at 8 am on a Friday morning.

"We're going to be late for class, Harry," Rose said instead of saying something rude. They said goodbye to Sirius who transformed back into a dog, and then made their way back to the castle.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Harry said as they entered the castle. He must have sensed the tension.

"Definitely! I can't wait to see all the different stores," Rose answered. "The upperclassmen in my house were telling me about Hogsmeade." At that moment, the school bell rang.

Crap.

The two began to sprint as fast as they could to the castle and up the staircases. When they reached the door to the DADA classroom, they were panting heavily. Harry opened the door for them and they dashed in.

"Sorry we're late, Professor Lupin. We -"

But it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the teacher's desk; it was Snape.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down." Rose began to walk to the empty desk. But Harry didn't move.

"Where's Professor Lupin?" he said.

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," said Snape with a twisted smile. "I believe I told you to sit down?" Rose sat down at her desk. The only one left was directly in front of Snape's desk. Besides her, was the only empty seat.

But Harry stayed where he was.

"What's wrong with him?"

Snape's black eyes glittered.

"Nothing life-threatening," he said, looking as though he wished it were. "Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty."

Harry walked slowly to the seat and sat down. Snape looked around at the class.

"As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far -"

"Please, sir, we've done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows," said Hermione quickly, "and we're just about to start -"

"Be quiet," said Snape coldly. Rose put on her impassive expression. It was hard to like someone who was easy to hate. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," said Dean Thomas boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class. Snape looked more menacing than ever.

"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you - I, would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss -"

Snape picked up the textbook that Rose just took out of her bag. He flicked through the textbook, to the very back chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered.

"Werewolves," said Snape. _Interesting, _Rose thought. _Why werewolves?_ After nearly two years of knowing Snape, Rose had learned one important thing about the teacher. There was _always _a method to his madness.

"But, sir," said Hermione, seemingly unable to restrain herself, "we're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start hinkypunks -"

"Miss Granger," said Snape in a voice of deadly calm, "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." He glanced around again. 'All of you! Now!" He throw Rose's textbook back onto her desk. Naturally, the book slid and knocked Harry's book off of the table.

With many bitter sidelong looks and some sullen muttering, the class opened their books.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" said Snape.

Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.

"Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between -?"

"We told you," said Parvati suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on -"

"Silence!" snarled Snape. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are..."

"The snout of the werewolf-," Rose began to say. Everyone directed their attention towards her. "-is different from that of a normal wolf." A smirk began to play on Snape's lips.

"Correct, ten points to Slytherin for actually reading your textbook," Snape said. Harry frowned deeply. "Read the chapter and write a summary."

No one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. They sat and made notes on werewolves from the textbook, while Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin.

"Very poorly explained... That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia... Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three..." he said as he stared at Seamus's work. Seamus became a brilliant shade of red and he tried to restrain his mouth.

When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.

"You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand. Ms. Potter, stay behind."

Nearly everyone dashed out of the classroom, especially the Gryffindors who wanted to be as far away from Snape as possible. Harry gave her a quick squeeze on her shoulder before leaving.

"Ms. Potter, what's the difference between Monkshood and Aconite?" Snape asked. Rose raised an eyebrow. He had asked a question extremely similar to that one on her first day of Potions.

"They're the same plant that also goes by the name of Wolfsbane," Rose said. Snape smirked.

"Your usual advanced lessons have been on hold since you've been moved to the fifth year class. However, I would like to assign you a research assignment," Snape said.

"Alright, what would it be on?" She asked. Rose pulled out a piece of parchment and quill.

"Wolfsbane," he announced. "I wanted five rolls of parchment on everything you can find on the ingredient along with _every _potion it's used in. Due by the end of November." Snape scribbled something on a scrap of parchment. "This will be a pass to the restriction section for the next month."

"Understood," Rose said.

"I believe strongly in your capabilities, Ms. Potter," Snape said. A huge smile erupted on Rose's face. This was high praise coming from him.

"Thank you so much!" Rose exclaimed as she grabbed her bag. "Have a great day!" She hurried out of the classroom.

Snape sat back down at the desk. He couldn't restrain the dark smile on his face at this point. After the completion of her 'research project,' he would have Rose aid him in the completion of the Wolfsbane potions. The girl was very smart. It wouldn't take long before she would figure it out. He wouldn't be surprise if she knew before the end of November.

The rest of the day whizzed by. Rose found herself in the library after dinner, starting her research. She had at least seven different books about Wolfsbane open around her as she took notes from each other. Rose was so absorbed in her work that she didn't hear someone walk up to her.

"Hullo," a male voice interrupted her concentration. God help her if that was Draco or Ron. She looked up with an annoyed expression. However it quickly washed away as she saw who was there. The first thing she noticed of about the stranger was his face. He was classically handsome with a long thin nose, a pair of grey eyes, sharp cheek bones, and a pair of pink lips. His hair was a light shade of brown and suited his face quite nicely. Rose also noticed that the stranger was dressed in Hufflepuff robes with a shiny Prefect badge pinned to his chest.

"Oh, Hi," Rose said. She felt cheeks turn pink, and began to feel a bit insecure. Her hair was all bunched in an ugly bun and she was wearing her oversized Weasely sweater.

"My name's Cedric, um, Cedric Diggory," He said awkwardly. Rose suddenly had a memory of sitting with Daphne and Draco at breakfast and that name coming up for some reason.

"I'm Rose Potter, nice to meet you" She responded. Cedric smiled at her. Sweet Merlin, he was cute.

"Er, so I was wondering if maybe you would like to go out on a date?" Cedric asked. Rose's eyes went wide. Holy Merlin's nut sack!

"Yes, yeah!" Rose said, trying not to sound too eager. Cedric looked like he was stopping himself from jumping up and down.

"Great, does tomorrow work? We could explore Hogsmeade together. I know that it would be your first time there," He proposed. Rose could feel her heart beating hard against her chest, and her hands were feeling clammy.

"Yeah, sure! Where do you wanna meet?" Rose asked.

"How about at Great Hall at ten?" Cedric offered. Rose nodded her head. "Brilliant, see you then, Rose." He gave her a large smile and waved goodbye.

"See you tomorrow," Rose said as he left. As soon as he was gone, Rose slumped back into her seat. A boy had just asked her out on a date. A boy! And he was cute!

Rose jumped up in her seat and collected all of her books and parchment. She couldn't even think about doing work anymore. She had to get back to the Slytherin common room and tell Daphne. She raced out of the library, earning her a glare Madam Prince.

"_Open," _Rose hissed at a wall of grey bricks. It didn't take her too long before she realized that she could open the entrance to the Slytherin common room with Parselmouth regardless of what the current password was. The bricks pulled themselves apart, creating a perfect oval that lead to their common room. Their common room was designed in clusters. Clusters of armchairs and couches facing each other were scattered around the large room. This design allowed different groups of people to sit together without the groups being forcing to interact or overhear each other.

Rose headed towards the cluster where the majority of the third years were sitting. Daphne was stretched out on a couch flipping through a magazine.

"Daphne, guess what!" Rose exclaimed as she jumped onto the blonde girl.

"What? That you just punctured my liver?" Daphne grounded as she pushed Rose off of her.

"Cedric Diggory just asked me out on a date!" Rose announced. Suddenly, Daphne jumped up on the couched and shrieked.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" Daphne cried.

"Ms. Greengrass, lower the volume," a Prefect scolded her as he walked by their cluster. Daphne rolled her eyes but still sat back down.

"How did this happen?" Daphne asked in a normal volume.

"Well, I was just sitting in the library, doing work, when Cedric came over and just asked me out," Rose explained. "We're going to Hogsmeade together tomorrow."

"This is amazing! We have to go pick your outfit, and decide how to do your hair! Maybe we could even paint your nails," Daphne said. "But first." Daphne got up and stomped over to Draco who was playing a match of chess against Blaise Zabini. Rose got up and followed after her.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you've lost the bet. You owe five galleons," Daphne told him. Draco looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. Daphne placed her hands on her hips.

"From the bet on whether or not the fifth year who liked Rose was Diggory or Cerebrum," Daphne said. "You bet on Cerebrum, _but _Diggory just asked Rose out."

"_What?" _Draco hissed. He stood up, knocking over the chess board.

"Draco!" Theodore barked as the chess pieces came flying at him. Draco ignored him. He sneered at the group before stomping away climbing up the staircase to the boys' dormitory.

"What's his problem?" Rose asked.

"I don't know," Daphne said. "But he still owes me five galleons."

Afterwards, the two girls were ushered back into their dormitory by one of the Prefects. Apparently screaming and jumping on furniture on a Friday night was not suitable for the Slytherin common room. Rose plopped herself onto her bed with Daphne following after her.

"Isn't this exciting?" Daphne said. "Cedric Diggory is so fit."

"Yeah, I guess," Rose said. "But how did he like know me or whatever?" Daphne jumped off the bed and went to her trunk. She pulled out a box of nail polish. She came back on to the bed and opened the box.

"You're pretty, Rose," Daphne said. "He must of seen you, and know he wants to know more about you. That's why people go on dates, Ro." She pulled out two colors: silver and yellow.

"I guess," Rose said. She pointed to the yellow, and extended her hand to Daphne. Daphne began to paint Rose's nails.

"And he's a fifth year, _and _a Prefect," Daphne added. "He's so tall."

"Yeah, I know, he's almost a half a meter taller than me," Rose added. Daphne finished her left hand and moved on to Rose's right.

"Hey, just think of it this way, you're just hanging out with a new friend," Daphne told her. She finished Rose's nails. Rose reached for the bottle of silver nail polish and began to paint Daphne's nails.

"I guess that makes it less stressful," Rose said.

"Have you told Harry yet?" Daphne asked. Rose frowned.

"Nope," She replied. Daphne raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not going to tell him now. Don't wanna get his knickers in a twist."

"Alright," Daphne said. They finished painting their nails, and Daphne returned the polishes back to her trunk.

"I think I'm going to head off to bed, Daph," Rose said as she headed off to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she found herself under her covers with a large tome in front her.

"_Lumos," _She whispered. Her wand lit up, and she stuck it into her hair. Impromptu book light. She was reading a book on Wolfsbane that she had retrieved from the restricted section of the library.

_The Wolfsbane Potion was invented by Damocles in 1976, who was awarded Order of Merlin, First Class for this accomplishment in potion engineering. His potion uses the poison essences of the Wolfsbane, also known as aconite, to soothes and represses, however does not cure, the severe illness of-_

Rose's eyelids began to twitch and droop. She tried to look at the words again. However the black ink began to swirl around the words faded as she closed her eyes. A few moments later, Rose had flipped herself over with her face buried into her pillow. The book had fallen off of her bed and onto the floor.

That night the moon shone bright and full. Somewhere in the Forbidden Forest a wolf howled at the sky. On the castle grounds, Lancelot, who was taking a midnight scroll, heard the wolf. A whimper escaped his snout as he used his paws to cover his ears.

The next morning arrived. At exactly the strike of dawn, Rose rolled out of bed. She headed to the shared girls bathroom and started to shower. Afterwards she stood in front of the mirror with a towel wrapped around her body. In front of her was a book she had borrowed from Daphne: _Madam Kathleen's Book of Magical Done and Beautified Hair. _Rose flicked through the book before stopping at a page. She picked up her wand and performed the charm. Her hair instantly dried. Instead of curling up, her hair became wavy although it still curled at the end.

Once she was pleased with herself, Rose exited the bathroom. She would worry about her makeup and whatnot later in the day. For now, she slipped on an oversized knitted yellow sweater and pair of grey leggings. She also made sure to put on her emerald necklace from her brother, the charm bracelet, and Fred's bracelet. She shared longingly at the earrings Draco had given her two Christmases ago. _One day, _she thought, _I'll pierce my ears. _

Rose went down to the common room, and did her homework until her friends would wake up. She had completed her Charms homework and half of her Transfiguration essay when someone entered the common room. Like clockwork, Draco came down from the boys' dormitory at exactly seven thirty.

"Why are you always awake so bloody early?" Draco groaned as he came down the staircase. He had his Weasley sweater on. Much to Rose's delight, Draco was extremely fond of the jumper and would continuously use magic to enlarge it whenever he would outgrow it.

"I think it's important to take advantage of as many hours in the day as possible," Rose said. Draco plopped himself next to her. He knew that she would want to wait for their other friends. While he took a quick power nap, Rose completed the rest of the of her Transfiguration homework. About an hour later, Daphne, Theo, and Blaise came down.

"Are you excited for your date today?" Daphne asked Rose as she wiggled her eyebrows. They were heading upstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"With who?" Blaise asked. He swung his arm around Rose's shoulder. "Who's the lucky bloke?"

"Cedric bloody Diggory," Draco grumbled.

"Isn't he the Captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team?" Theo asked.

"Oh yeah, he is, I guess," Rose responded. The group reached the Great Hall and went towards the Slytherin table.

"Yeah, he's the seeker," Blaise said.

"So, I'm a seeker too," Draco added, frowning. Rose chose this moment to tune out of the conversation. She stacked fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, sausages, and hash browns onto her plate. She poured coffee into her goblet. _Why didn't they have mugs or normal glasses? _Rose thought. Her friends continued to bicker and speak with each other.

_I wonder what I'll eat for lunch today, _Rose was thinking to herself. _I guess I'll still be in Hogsmeade when it lunch time. Urgh, will I have to eat less in front of Cedric? That's what those girls do in television shows. Hm, I wonder if they have hamburgers in Hogsmeade. Probably not. Probably more English food. Maybe they'll have pizza. I wonder if there's special wizard food or something like that?_

"Rose," Daphne said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah," Rose responded.

"The golden trio has arrived," she informed her. Rose searched the Gryffindor table until she located a head of unruly black hair. As if he sensed her, Harry turned around to look at her. Rose winked at him. Harry smiled at her before sitting down.

"Are you gonna tell him about Cedric?" Daphne said in a sing-a-long voice.

"I'm gonna punch your face, Daphne, and I'm going to enjoy it," Rose replied and she cut up her sausage. Daphne laughed, deciding to see that as a joke.

A few hours later, Daphne and Rose found themselves back in their dormitory. Tracey, Millicent and Pansy were also there, getting reading for the Hogsmeade visit. Rose was repainting her nails. She decided she'd rather have the mood changing polish that Daphne had gifted her years ago.

Pansy was bustling around changing through multiple outfits. Obviously if she chose the perfect outfit, Draco would want to spend the day with her. Especially since he had been acting particular cold towards Rose during breakfast today. It was meant to be. Draco is clearly coming to his senses and will see that he belongs with Pansy in no time.

Millicent was trying to apply makeup to her pale face. Her granny had sent her a package filled with all kinds of things that a lady would need. No one had shown her how to apply any of it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to ask her dormmates how to apply. They would all just make fun of her about it. Although maybe not Potter, who would always help Daphne with whatever she asked. Millicent looked over at Rose who was giggling at something that Daphne had told her. No, she wasn't going to risk it.

Tracey was sitting in front of her dresser, brushing her hair. She would always brush each side of her head a hundred times three times a day. Her mother told her to find something she was good at and stick with it. Her hair was her most redeeming quality after all.

Daphne was proud of how she looked. She knew that she was beautiful from every inch of her body. Greengrass women were always breathtaking; it was just how they were made. Her and her sisters were taught how to take care of themselves from the moment they could walk. They were taught that beauty was the most important thing that any girl could aspire for. Maybe that's why Daphne was so fond of Hermione. The muggleborn witch never cared how she looked or what she wore. All Hermione cared about was her education and her career. Hm, if only Daphne was allowed to think like that.

Rose had finally decided on the prefect outfit to wear on her date. She wore a dark brown skirt with a navy blue scoop neck shirt. She added a pair of light grey leggings for warmth and comfort along with knee high brown boots. She swung on a long brown coat and a blue scarf.

"Ready, Daph?" Rose asked. Daphne was sitting at her dresser, daintily applying pink lip gloss.

"What no makeup?" Daphne asked. "You are going out with an older guy." Rose frowned. She went back to her dresser. She hastily applied eyeliner and lip gloss until Daphne was satisfied. Finally they left their dormitory and headed to the Entrance Hall.

It was only nine thirty, but already the Entrance Hall was filled up with eager students. Professor McGonagall, stood at the head of a large line. She was checking students' names off who were allowed to visit Hogsmeade before allowing them to go. The line was from oldest to youngest so Rose and Daphne had a bit of waiting to do. Which was fine since Rose was suddenly pulled away by a tall redheaded fifth year.

"Fred! What the hell!" Rose shrieked at the tall Weasley. He had dragged her into an empty classroom. Before Rose's face had the chance to turn a brilliant shade of scarlet, she realized that George and Harry were also in the room with them.

"What are you doing?" said Harry curiously to the twins.

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink.

"Early Christmas present for you two," George said with a crooked smile.

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, Harry and Rose stared at it.

"What's that supposed to be?" Rose asked.

"This, love, is the secret of our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, it's time to pass it on to the next generation."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what do we need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.

"A bit of old parchment!" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."

"Well... when we were in our first year - young, carefree, and innocent -"

Harry snorted, and Rose rolled her eyes. She doubted whether Fred and George had ever been innocent.

"Well, more innocent than we are now - we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason -"

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual -detention disembowelment and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

"Don't tell me -" said Harry, starting to grin. Rose was already grinning

"Well, what would you've done?" said Fred. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed -this."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" Rose asked.

"Oh yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding us up," said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment.

"Oh, are we?" said George.

He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

_Holy shit! _Rose thought. _This might be the map that Sirius was talking about!_

And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

_Mr. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present _

_THE MARAUDER'S MAP_

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Rose and Harry nearly bumped heads as they bent over the parchment. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Rose's eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, she noticed something else.

This map showed a set of passages she had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead-

"Right into Hogsmeade," said Fred, tracing one of them with his finger. "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four" - he pointed them out - "but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in - completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," said Fred solemnly.

Rose looked over at Harry. They gave each other a look. They knew who those names belonged to. This was the product of their father and his friends.

"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."

"So, young Potters," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourself."

"See you two," said George, winking.

They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.

"Blimey," Harry mumbled.

"They found the bloody map," Rose said, turning to Harry.

"They're brilliant," Harry said as he picked up the piece of parchment.

"It's good that it's with us now," Rose said. "Lancelot can probably be seen on that as who he actually is." Harry's eyes widened.

"You're right, and we could also find Scabbers with this," Harry replied. He tucked the parchment away in his coat. "But for now, I'll keep it safe with me. Excited for Hogsmeade, though?"

"Well, about that," Rose said slowly. She quickly led them out of the class room, in the public eye. "I actually have a date."

"_What?_" Harry exclaimed. A bunch of people turned around and looked at them.

"Yep! Haveagoodtime!" Rose squeaked and ran away from her brother. She plopped herself into the line and waited until she was at the front of the line.

"Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall said as she found her name in the rolls of parchment. "Isn't convenient that you Aunt was able to sign your slip." McGonagall gave her a stony look. Rose couldn't help but smirk.

"Why yes it is," Rose replied. "Thank you, Professor." With that Rose skipped off to the entrance.

"Rose!" A voice called for her. Rose turned around to see Cedric waving and walking towards her. He looked adorable in his large coat with his black and yellow scarf.

"Cedric," she responded. "How are you?" He gave a wide smile that made her heart flutter.

"Amazing," Cedric said. "Are you ready to be off?" He extended his arm to her. Rose blushed and wrapper her arm beneath his. The pair made their way out of the castle and down the sloping hills.

"Where do you want to head off to first?" Cedric asked. Rose looked around at the village from the Hogwarts gates. It looked like something out of a movie like the ones they used to play in primary school. There were multiple houses made with bricks with hay roofs. There were also a scattering of stores that had everything out on display for the students' visit. Jack-o-lanterns were littered around since it was Halloween.

"Why don't you tour me around?" Rose suggested. "I've never been here before."

"Honeydukes, it is then," Cedric said as he led her to a large sweet shop. That's how they spent the next few hours. Cedric had taken her to nearly every shop in the village, allowing her to marvel at the only magical village in the United Kingdoms. Rose nearly had a heart attack in Honeydukes, and had to convince Cedric that she could pay for herself. Then they went to Zonko's Joke Shop, Ceridwen's Cauldrons, and Gladrags Wizardwear. For lunch, they headed off to the Three Broomsticks.

"You have to let me buy lunch at least," Cedric said as they entered the pub. The Three Broomsticks seemed to be a very popular place since it was overflowing with people. Cedric led her to the back of the pub. Somehow an empty booth appeared in front of them. Rose concluded that there must have been a charm on the pub.

"If you insist," Rose said as she sat down at the booth. Cedric sat across from her. They began to peel off their coats and scarfs. A waitress came over and asked for their orders. Cedric insisted that they both get Butterbeers.

"Excited about the first quidditch match?" Cedric asked.

"It's Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff; I wouldn't miss it for the world," Rose said. "Though, I wonder who I'll be cheering for."

"Hufflepuff, obviously," Cedric said with a cheeky smile.

"I don't know, I think the Gryffindor seeker just might beat Hufflepuff's," Rose teased. Cedric laughed.

"How would you know? You're a just a chaser," Cedric said. At that moment, the waitress returned with their food and Butterbeers.

"Did Marcus ever tell you why Hufflepuff had to switch with Slytherin," Cedric asked. "Usually the first match of the year is Gryffindor versus Slytherin."

"No, why?" Rose asked. She took a sip from her Butterbeer. Her eyes widen. It tasted like if you took butterscotch pudding into a frothy soda. It was amazing.

"He wouldn't say anything at the Captains' meeting," He responded. He chuckled at Rose's reaction to the Butterbeer.

"All the quidditch captains are forced by the Professor to have monthly meetings," Cedric explained. Rose tried to imagine Cedric, Marcus Flint (who was very violent and unarguable), Oliver Wood (who was extremely defensive), and Roger Davies stuck in a room together for an hour.

"You know, one day I'm going to become Captain for Slytherin," Rose said proudly.

"Ready? You seem sure of yourself," Cedric said but he kept a coy smile on his face.

"I have to be sure of myself. Success is kind of like my protocol," Rose said cockily. "But I might not get it until fifth year."

"I'll be a seventh year by then," Cedric said. He raised his glass. "To future Captains' meetings together."

"Together," Rose chimed as she clanked her cup against his.

An hour later, Rose and Cedric were strolling through Hogsmeade, holding hands.

"There's a place I want to show you," Cedric said. Before she could respond, he guided her through the thin layers of trees that boarded the village. She followed silently, until they reached a cliff. Rose looked over and saw that beneath there was rushing water from the ocean. Fortunately, there was _no _jagged or sharp rocks.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"My mates and I found this place last spring," Cedric told her. "It was really warm back then so we would jump in. Maybe in the spring you could come along." His ears turned pink at his own suggestion. Rose felt her cheeks turn a similar shade.

"It's beautiful up here," Rose commented. The salty breeze gave her a kind of calm and déjà vu. However she could not remember when she had ever been to the ocean before. She turned to look at Cedric, whose eyes were matching the color of the ocean. Then an idea came to her mind.

"Let's jump in."

"What?" Cedric responded. "We can't. It's the water is frigid." Rose just smiled at him. She began to remove her jacket and scarf and kicked off her boots. She pulled out her wand and placed a warming charm on herself.

"Really? Because I feel toasty," She teased as she batted her eyelashes. Cedric smirked, and quickly pulled off his jacket, scarf, and shoes. He cast the charm on himself as well. They tuck their wands away into their jackets.

"Ready?" Rose asked as she went to the edge of the cliff. Where the fuck was this sudden burst of idiotic courage coming from? What was this boy doing to her?

"Always," Cedric said. He went up to the edge and clasped her hand. Their fingers intertwined together.

"One….." Rose said. "Two….three!"

At that moment, the two teenagers jumped off the cliff. It felt like they were flying, but not at the same time. The air whipped their faces and caused their hair to be pushed back. It was intoxicating and seemed eternal. There was a moment when Rose felt pure terror dance through her abdomen. She turned her eyes to Cedric. He looked back at her and their eyes locked. The terror sizzled to excitement and Rose felt her heart skip a beat.

It quickly ended as they dived into the ocean. Rose gasped as she felt the salty water rushed into her noses, eyes, and mouth. Although the charm prevented the icy temperature of the water to seep through, they quickly became extremely wet.

Rose began to panic. She was still underwater, but she no longer felt Cedric's hand on hers. She opened her eyes despite the stinging sensation. The water was green and she couldn't see Cedric anywhere. Her nightmare began to replay in her head.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her above the water.

"Rose," Cedric said as they broke the surface. Rose turned around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he had his hands securely around her waist. She could feel his body pressed firmly against hers. His damp hair had flattened and covered his forehead. He brushed Rose's wet hair out of her face.

"Thanks for saving me," Rose said breathlessly.

"I wish you would have to me that you couldn't swim," Cedric chuckled. Rose's cheeks heated up again. Cedric leaned down. Her eyes fluttered closed as his hot breath tickled the skin of her cheeks. He kissed her. His salty lips felt soft against her own. Kissing Cedric felt like she was jumping off the cliff again. It was intoxicating and eternal. Then it ended.

Rose opened her eyes and stared at his. She pushed herself forwards and kissed him again. They pulled apart for a moment before she pounced on him again, knocking both of them to the ground. Rose could have sworn that they were kissing for hours, but when they pulled apart, it felt too soon.

"We should probably head back to shore," Cedric said reluctantly. He would give anything to stay in this exact spot in the ocean, kissing Rose Potter until neither of them could breathe.

Finally, they slugged back to the shore. Cedric was still holding onto to Rose and swung her into his arms. He tickled her and she let out a shriek of giggles. She wiggled out of his arms, and ran away. Cedric playfully chased her. They had to hike back up to Hogsmeade and then to the cliff. Lucky for them, the warming charm lasted although they were still soaking wet. They reached a cliff, and Cedric quickly placed a drying charm on both of them.

"Crap, I think my scarf might have blown away," Rose said as they were putting their things back on. Cedric took his Hufflepuff scarf off and wrapped it around Rose. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine," Cedric said. "Besides, you look beautiful in yellow." Rose couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across her face. He leaned down and kissed her again. Together they walked back to the castle. Everyone notice them enter the Entrance Hall, and looked at Cedric's scarf on Rose, their intertwined hands, and their blissful smiles.

"Do you want to have lunch tomorrow?" Cedric asked.

"Sure, at the Great Hall?" Rose said.

"No, but it's going to be a surprise," He replied. "Meet me here. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Rose said. Cedric leaned down again, and cupped her cheek. He placed a light kiss on her lips before saying good bye.

Rose felt like she was floating back to the Slytherin Common Room. She hissed quickly at the entrance and pranced up the staircase to her dormitory. She peeled off her clothing and jumped into her bed. It had been quite a lovely day, but she was exhausted. She pulled out one of her Wolfsbane research book, and fell asleep reading it.

_Still another hour, _Remus Lupin thought as he paced through his chambers. Tonight would be the second night of his transformation, and he already felt like the Hogwarts Express had run him over five times. He stopped pacing and stared at the frothy goblet that sat on his coffee table. Severus had a House Elf deliver it to him earlier that day.

Remus grabbed the goblet and went to his bedroom. The room was nearly empty except for a small bed in the corner and a pair of chains attach to the wall. He took a swing from the goblet and grimace at the taste. Remus quickly drank the rest of the potion. He headed towards the chains and began to restrain himself.

"_Ligatus Fuero," _He whispered. The enchanted chains began to bind him, and tighten their hold on him. In front of him, the curtains of his window flew open. It revealed the sky which was in the process of transitioning into dusk. Remus gulped and stared as the time passed.

"Wake the hell up!" Daphne yelled as she shook Rose awake. Rose shot out of her bed, knocking over her book, and hitting Daphne in the process.

"Wha?" Rose mumbled.

"Rose!" Daphne shrieked. "You need to get out of bed right now."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"The headmaster called a lockdown in the Great Hall!" Daphne explained. "Sirius Black is loose in the castle!" Rose's face dropped. She quickly threw on her night gown and slippers and grabbed her wand. Daphne led her out of the dormitory. All of the other Slytherins were also rushing out of the common room. Rose felt a pulse of heat radiate through her necklace.

_What the __**fuck **__did that idiot do? _Rose thought. She was herded into the Great Hall with the rest of her housemates. She quickly escaped the group of Slytherins, and found a small group of Gryffindors.

"Harry!" Rose exclaimed as she ran to her brother. Harry had his arms open and embraced her.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he held her tightly.

"I'm fine, but what happened?" Rose asked. Harry pursed his lips in a very McGonagall fashion.

"Apparently, Sirius Black tried to get into the Gryffindor tower and ended up shredding the portrait of the Fat Lady," Harry explained. Rose frowned, she was about to say something when a Prefect came around and told them to go to sleep.

Rose quickly dragged her sleeping bag next to Harry's. Daphne and Draco followed her and based their sleeping bags on her other side while Ron and Hermione went to Harry's side. She also noticed that Fred, George and Ginny had placed their bags around them. Rose snuggled up closer against to Harry. They shared their two sleeping bags so that they could sleep in the comfort of each other.

"Love you, Rosie," Harry mumbled. She smiled.

"Love you, too."

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. Rose watched him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away from their group. Rose could quickly tell that her brother and their four friends were all pretending to be asleep.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" asked Percy in a whisper.

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."

"And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."

They heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

"Headmaster?" It was Snape. Rose kept quite still, listening hard. "The whole of the seventh floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched."

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape. Rose felt her heat plummet to the pit of her stomach. Even Harry raised his head slightly.

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."

They opened their eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they stood; Dumbledore's back was to him, but he could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before - ah -the start of term?" said Snape, who was barely opening his lips, as though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and there was something like warning in his voice.

"It seems - almost impossible - that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns whet, you appointed -"

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. Rose bit her bottom lip. Harry shuffled slightly. "I must go down to the dementors," said Dumbledore. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" said Percy.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."

Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left.

Harry rolled to face Rose. His eyes told her everything that she needed to know. Tomorrow morning, they would find Lancelot.

The next morning, everyone was allowed out of the Great Hall. Rose and Harry parted to their dormitories to change into jeans and jumpers. Before they met again, Rose retrieved her broomstick and hid it in the girls' bathroom. She made her way up to the ground floor. She looked around for her brother but the Entrance Hall was empty.

A rush of air surrounded her as she was enveloped into a sleek fabric. She was underneath the Invisibility Cloak with her brother.

"Scared ya?" Harry chuckled.

"You wish," Rose grumbled. They headed towards the exit onto the Hogwarts. Because of last night, none of the students were allowed to be outside. They quickly made their way to Hagrid's hut. Much to their surprise, Lancelot was snoozing peacefully outside of the hut. Rose felt herself become inflamed.

They quickly placed Lancelot underneath the cloak and he disappeared from sight.

"_Wingardium Leviosa,_" Rose said as the large dog levitated. They had to move slowly back to the castle so that the cloak wouldn't fall off. Once they reached the inside of the castle, Harry pulled of the cloak and brought the Marauder's Map. Rose levitated Lancelot while Harry kept guard.

They made it to Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.

"_Open,"_ Harry hissed at a sink. The sink pulled itself open revealing a large hole. Rose retrieved her Nimbus 2000, and the siblings seated themselves on the broomstick. Rose continued to levitate Lancelot while Harry controlled the broomstick. A moment later, they were soaring through the tunnels to the Chamber of Secrets.

After opening the second entrance, the entered the chamber. Rose gently placed Lancelot down who was still asleep.

"I'll kill him," Rose grumbled.

"Try not to do that," Harry responded. He knelt down and shook the dog awake. Lancelot finally woke up and looked around, startled, at his new environment.

"C'mon Sirius," Harry said as he threw his robe at the dog. Sirius transformed and wrapped the robe around him.

"Hey," Sirius said slowly as he gave them a sheepish smile. Rose placed her hands on her hips.

"Sirius, love, I've been wondering," Rose said. "Did you decided to leave your human brain back in Italy, or are you just fucking stupid?"

"Rose, a bit harsh," Harry said. Sirius stared at the floor meekly.

"No, it's not," Rose said. "Because he could have gotten himself caught or worse: killed! And if he got caught we would have winded up in the whirlwind and gotten expelled for harboring a fugitive in a boarding school! And then-"

"I can explain," Sirius interrupted.

"Fine, what happened," Harry sighed.

"I was looking for you guys so I headed to the Gryffindor tower," Sirius explained. "But the Fat Lady wouldn't allow me in as a dog so I thought I could get in as a human. But she still recognized me even after twenty years and the blond hair. So I kinda panicked."

"Oh Merlin," Harry sighed again. "Do you realize that you put the entire school in a hysteria?" Sirius pouted again and looked down at the floor.

_Oh, mother and father._ Rose looked up to the ceiling. _Give me the strength to control myself._

"Okay, new rule," Rose said. "You're going to stay down here until it's time for winter break. Then we're getting you out of the castle."

"I can't stay down here!" Sirius protested.

"You will." Rose said firmly.

"Bubble and Dobby will be coming down every day to bring food and anything else you'll need," Harry added. Sirius pouted and transformed back into Lancelot. He walked over to the twins and began to give them puppy dog eyes.

"C'mon Siri," Harry sighed as he knelt down. He scratched behind the dog's ears. "We're doing this for your own safety."

"We need you," Rose said. "So we need to protect you." She knelt down as well and kissed Lancelot on his head. "But this is the only place that Harry and I can be certain that no one will find you." The yellow dog lowered his head. Sirius understood.

They called Bubble and give her the assignment of taking care of Sirius. After saying their goodbyes, they exited the Chamber of Secrets.

"Do you want to head to lunch?" Harry asked Rose. She was closing up the Chamber of Secrets.

"I wish I could, but I have, um, lunch plans," Rose replied awkwardly. Harry cocked an eyebrow.

"Is this with the boy that you went to Hogsmeade with, yesterday?" He asked.

"Yeah," Rose replied. Harry sighed.

"Is he nice?" He asked. Rose nodded her head. Harry wrapped his arms around his sister and kissed her forehead. "If he so much as looks at you the wrong way, I will not pause to tear him limb from limb and his entire life look like an accident."

"Alright, big brother," She chuckled. She gave him a kiss on his forehead. "I can take care of myself too."

"I know, but I love you too much Rosie, not to be a hard ass about it," He responded. The corners of Rose's lips twitched.

"Love you too, hard ass," Rose said before strolling out of the bathroom.

The Great Hall, was empty except for a fifth year boy, who wasn't Cedric.

"Cedric said that he wanted me to lead you to the lunch," the teenaged boy said. "Said that he was don't getting ready enough." Rose frowned slightly.

"Oh-kay," Rose mumbled. She reluctantly followed the Hufflepuff boy through the halls of the school. Finally, they stopped in front of a large portrait of fruit bowl. He reached over and tickled the lower part of a large green pear. The pear giggled and suddenly, the large frame swung open. Inside was the entrance of a large industrial kitchen.

"He's in there, waiting for you," the boy said. He gave her a wink before pushed her through the portrait hole. She stepped in just as the frame swung closed behind her. What appeared to be hundreds of little house elves in clean uniforms scurried around the kitchen preparing meals. Rose looked around in wonder of everything before she felt a tug at her pant leg.

"Hello! You mustiest be Miss Rosie," The tiny little creature with brown eyes chirped. "Misters Ricky is a waiting!" The house elf began to pull her in a direction. Rose followed.

They stopped in front of an alcove in the kitchen that was far from the noise. There was a pretty table with matching cushion seats. Beneath white table cloth, were two sets of plates with silver domes ontop. A thin glass vase stood in the center with a single rose in it. Cedric stood by one of the chairs with a goofy smile on his face.

"Lunch for two?" Cedric said as he pulled out her chair. It had sounded better in his head. Rose smiled widely. She sat down at his offered seat, and waited for Cedric to also sit.

"Thank you…," Rose said. "Ricky." Cedric chuckled.

"I couldn't get them to stop calling me that, you know." He lifted up the silver domes. Steak with gravy and mashed garlic potatoes with green beans.

"I like Ricky," Rose continued with a coy grin. Cedric rolled his eyes.

"Let's forget about Ricky, tell me about Rose," Cedric said as he picked up a goblet to his lips.

"Well, I have this whole research project at this Wolfsbane plant that Professor Snape has me doing and he also got our DADA class doing this ridiculous paper about werewolves," Rose rambled on. She began to cut into her steak.

"He's got our class doing this essay about dementors," Cedric added. "I swear it's nearly inhumane that stuff he expects us to do."

"I respect the man, he's brilliant of course, but this whole werewolf thing is a bit-"Rose stopped. Her fork fell from her hands and clanked against her plate. "Holy shit."

"What?" Cedric asked, alarmed at Rose's change of attitude. The red haired girl jumped up in her seat, and sprinted out of the kitchen. Cedric stood up and followed after her.

Moments later and after quite a bit of running, Cedric finally found Rose sitting in the library. She was in the back on the floor surrounded by half a dozen large books.

"Rose?" Cedric whispered as he approached her.

"Werewolves!" Rose said as she lifted up a large book. "Cedric, it's been in face for these past three months. How could I have been so blind! Werewolf, Cedric!" Cedric leaned down and sat down next to her.

"What are you talking about Rose, love?" Cedric asked her. Rose turned to him. He noticed that the edges of her green eyes where filling with tears, and her little bottom lip quivered. "Rose, are you alright?"

"I'm a bad person," Rose said in a small voice.

"That's not true, love," Cedric consoled her.

A small wet drop streamed down her pretty face. Cedric wrapped his arms around the red haired girl. Rose melted into the older boy's embrace. He was so warm and smelled so good that Rose wished that she could stay in this position forever. But now she had a new weight on her shoulders.

Remus Lupin never abandoned them. He wished that he could have even the smallest opportunity to have supported and cared for her and her brother. Remus wanted so badly to have taken those two chubby orphaned babies on that cold heartless October night and raise them, love them. Rose longed for some Prince Charming in shiny armor and a white horse to come along and save her and her brother from their wicked family.

But how can Prince Charming save you when he's too busy turning into a werewolf every month?


	17. Helicopters and Fairytales

**Hello! So sorry about taking so long to update, but I've been actually writing this chapter and the next one for a while now. This chapter is also over 12,000 words which is the most that I think I've written in one chapter. This will be the first half of the Prisoner of Azkaban and next chapter (which is already written) will finish the third book. I'll post the next chapter in two days, but I'm hoping for at least one or two reviews before then. Thanks so much for anyone that's reading and I hope that you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter owns me.**

Chapter 17 Helicopters and Fairytales

A few weeks had passed, and it was time for the first Quidditch match of the year! Rose sat in between Hermione and Ron in the Gryffindor stands. Around her neck was two scarves: red and gold, black and yellow. Everyone was dressed in large raincoats in anticipation of the drizzles that would soon become a storm.

"He'll be fine," Hermione squeezed her arm. "Dumbledore would never let anything bad happen." That didn't really make Rose feel better, but she didn't voice her thoughts.

"Do you guys see the dementors over there, eh?" Ron said as he pointed to across the field. Across the horizon was a fuzzy line of black silhouettes hovering, waiting.

"Gits," Rose mumbled beneath her breath. The match began and Lee Jordan's voice boomed through the speakers. Fourteen teenagers on fourteen thin broomsticks rose in the air and began swooping around. The rain quickly became heavier.

Rose sat at the each of her seat watching attentively at the two seekers who were flying through intertwined together. She felt a warm hand on her back, but she didn't look back. Harry stopped midflight. Rose frowned. Harry looked up at the sky. Rose looked up too.

Suddenly, Rose felt a chill go down her spine. She began to shake violently as the coldness filled her body. Then the hallow sound of a woman's screams filled her head. Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head as similar screams escaped her own lips. She faintly felt the hands of others trying to catch her as she fell to the floor. Between the woman's scream and her own, Rose heard another. This one belonged to Harry.

Rose felt a fire wash over her. Her fingers started moving. Her nails scrapped across the wood panels of the stands. Her body felt like a thousand ton weight as she tried to lift herself up. She hauled her body onto the railing of the stands and peeled her eyes open. It didn't really help her vision since all she could see was rain. But through the water fall and grayness, Rose saw a small form fall down.

"Harry!" The name belted out of her mouth, but it sounded more like a shriek. Before someone could realize what she was doing, Rose was running down the steps of the stands to the stadium floor. She broke through the doorways of the stands, past the stadium barriers, onto the field. She got onto the field just in time to look up and see Harry's body cut through the air. Just as she thought she was going to watch her brother plummet to his death, a beam of blue light shone through the air, cocooning Harry's body like a net. It gently carried him down before depositing him on the ground. Rose dashed to him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her body.

People came rushing down from the stands. Voices were being raised. Someone called for Madame Pomfrey, who was on her way.

"Rose!" A voice called for her. Rose turned around to see Cedric landing down from his broomstick and running towards her.

Nearly an hour later, Harry was lying peacefully in a bed at the school infirmary. He was surrounded by his sister, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Lucky the ground was so soft." Fred said.

"I thought he was dead for sure." Alicia commented.

"But he didn't even break his glasses." George added.

"Shh!" Rose shushed them as Harry began to stir.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life." One of the Gryffindor Chasers said.

Harry's eyes snapped open. He looked around at the Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, gathered around his bed. Rose, Ron, and Hermione were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.

"Harry!" said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath, the mud. "How're you feeling?" Rose squeezed his hand tightly beneath the sheets. Harry turned slightly to look at her.

"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.

"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been - what - fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died," said Alicia, who was shaking.

Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot. Ron placed a hand on her arm.

"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"

No one said anything. The horrible truth sank into Harry like a stone.

"We didn't - lose?"

"Diggory got the Snitch," said George. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square... even Wood admits it."

"Where is Wood?" said Harry, suddenly realizing he wasn't there.

"Still in the showers," said Fred. "We think he's trying to drown himself."

Harry pull his knee to his face, his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly. Rose stayed silent by his side.

"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before."

"There had to be one time you didn't get it," said George.

"It's not over yet," said Fred. "We lost by a hundred points"

"Right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin -."

"Hufflepuff will have to lose by at least two hundred points," said George.

"But if they beat Ravenclaw..."

"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff..."

"It all depends on the points - a margin of a hundred either way."

Harry laid there, not saying a word. Rose bit her lip. She moved onto the bed besides Harry and hugged him tightly. Everyone else stood there, giving a moment of silence.

After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave him in peace.

"We'll come and see you later," Fred told him. "Don't beat yourself up, Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had."

The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving. Ron and Hermione moved closer to Harry's bed.

"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away... He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him! Rose, she ran on to -"

"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," said Ron. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were -"

His voice faded, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thinking about what the dementors had done to him... about the screaming voice. Rose squeezed his hand again. She gave him a smile. Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione.

"Did someone get my Nimbus?"

Ron and Hermione looked quickly at each other.

"Er -"

"What?" said Harry, looking from one to the other.

"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away," said Hermione hesitantly.

"And?"

"It went straight to the Whomping Willow and hit it. Then it broke to a hundred different pieces," Rose informed him bluntly. Harry's eyes widened.

"My broom?" Harry whispered softly.

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," said Hermione in a very small voice.

Slowly, she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.

November continued to flow on. Harry was slumming around, upset about his broom and the defeat against Hufflepuff. It also didn't help that the dementors still made him feel uneasy. But he would continue on and smile for Hermione and Ron when necessary because the people he loved were safe and Rose looked happy whenever he saw her.

Rose was nearing the end of her research project as the month was drawing to a close. She had learned a lot through her work about the plant and had a greater understanding of the potions that it created. She even scheduled an appointment with Professor Lupin to further discuss the plant.

"Rose," Draco said, getting her attention. They were sitting at the Slytherin table during Sunday brunch. Rose was sipping coffee while staring off at the teacher's table.

"Yes," She responded. She looked down at her meal and started cutting her fried egg into tiny square pieces.

"I got a letter from my mother today," Draco started. He paused. "Apparently someone informed my parents about the Buckbeak incident, and now my father's going to blow this all out of proportions." Rose began smashing her eggs into mush.

"Is there a way we could stop this?" Rose asked. She knew what this meant. This would hurt Buckbeak which would hurt Hagrid which would make Harry feel like shit for a few months or so. She would rather avoid having her brother feel bad for something that wasn't his fault.

"Well, she also invited you over, so maybe you can try to convince them not to press charges," Draco added as he added another fried egg onto her plate. He sneered. "However that invitation doesn't come with a plus one so you can't bring your little _boyfriend _along." Rose frowned and turned to him.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Rose barked. "You're looking more green than usual."

"You sat at the Hufflepuff table yesterday, Rose," Draco scowled. "What am I supposed to do while I watch you faun over that ponce like he's the bloody king of Scotland?" His voice continued to drop in decibel until he was whispering aggressively through his clenched teeth.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were jealous, Draco," She spit out. Everything on her plate was pulverized.

"Thank Merlin you don't know any better," Draco muttered beneath his breath. Rose's eyes flared. She huffed out a breath and stood up.

"Screw you, Malfoy," Rose growled before she stomped away. Draco sighed. He picked up the letter that he got from his mother. In her immaculate written on pressed paper and silver stationary she had explain subtly how thrilled she was about his friendship with _'Miss Rosalyn' _and how she wanted him to _stay very good friends _with her. He wasn't dense. He knew what she was talking about.

"Bloody women," Draco grumbled as he crumbled up the letter and stuffed it in his pocket.

Rose stood patiently outside of Professor Lupin's office. She stood there for five minutes, and hadn't knocked on the door yet. She licked her lips, and looked down at her hands. Was she ready for this? Could she go through with this? What would-

"Ms. Potter, you might as well enter already," Professor Lupin said as he swung the door open. Rose pressed her lips together. Lupin sighed. "Why don't you come in?" She entered the small office and sat down at the closest armchair. Professor Lupin took a seat at his desk.

"Now what was it that you wanted to tell me, Rose?" Lupin asked. Rose drew in a shaky breath.

"I wouldn't say that I got a lot out of my childhood, Professor," Rose began with the strange subject. She paused. He gave her a strange look. "But, I remember a story that one of my primary school teachers would read to us." Rose looked down at the floor. "Maybe you're familiar with it, Professor, the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'." Lupin flinched at the name. "The story of the little girl who was delivering treats to her grandma in the woods. But the big, bad wolf decided he wanted to get involved."

"Miss Potter what does this have to do-?" Lupin said.

"He lured _her _in," Rose interrupted, her voice dropping to a whisper. She looked up at him with glassy eyes. "Then he followed her to sweet old grandma's house and he _ate _them." Lupin slumped back in his chair, and glared at the forgotten essays on his desk. He ran a hand through his sandy colored hair and repressed a sigh.

"Whatever you are trying to imply, Miss Potter, I don't-"

"Do _not _interrupt me," Rose hissed. "I wondered why the wolf would do such a thing. Why he would eat up that poor incident girl and her sweet old grandma?" A single tear streamed down her face. "Since we're on the _theme _of fairytales, let me tell my own." Lupin looked up at her with tired eyes. "I hated my life, Professor, from the moment I was left at that godforsaken house until the moment Snape showed up at my doorstep. I wasn't optimistic like Harry; I knew hate when I felt it. But he was the only reason why I didn't throw myself in front of a moving car when I was five or stab myself with a kitchen knife at seven." At this point, Lupin was also crying.

"Rose," He breathed.

"Shut up," Rose snapped and slammed her hands against his desk. "Every night I would crawl to that window and I would pray, Professor, I would pray my little heart out before I even knew what praying was!" She felt wet drops fall on her hands. "And guess who I was praying for, Professor!"

There was a silence in the office.

"YOU!" Rose shrieked. She pushed everything off his desk. Parchments, quills, glass ink bottles, and other small things came crashing to the group. "I PRAYED FOR YOU EVERYNIGHT!" More sobs racked through Rose's body, but Lupin stayed frozen, never breaking eye contact.

"Every night," Rose whispered. "I prayed for my Knight in Shining Armor to come and _save _me." She looked down and continued crying. "I thought I hated you, you know?" Lupin swallowed hard and sank deeper in his seat. He buried his face in his hands.

"But then I learned," Her voice was barely a whisper. "I learned that the man that I thought was going to save needed saving himself." She paused and snort. "That sounded less cliché in my head, I suppose." Rose walked around his desk and turn his chair around to face her. Rose grabbed his hands and pulled them off his face. She cupped his cheeks in her small soft hands.

"Rose," Remus breathed. She leaned down and kissed him on his forehead.

"I forgive you." It was barely audible, but it was enough. Remus wrapped his arms around the small girl into a tight hug and began sobbing into her chest. He sobbed for those ten years he had to transform by himself without the Marauders. He sobbed for the parents he lost during the first wizarding war. He sobbed for the death of his three best friends and the betrayal of another. He sobbed for the twelve years he spent alone and miserable. He sobbed for the stupid Ministry laws that decreed him subhuman and forbid him from adopting children.

He sobbed for the two little orphans he left behind.

Rose returned the hug and rested her head on top of his.

They stayed in that position for half an hour until Remus was done crying his lungs out and both their eyes were swollen and red.

Moments later, they were sitting in Professor Lupin's chambers' living room. Rose sat on the couch wrapped up in a thick blanket in front of the fireplace. Remus came back from his kitchen and handed her a cup of hot chocolate.

"Drink it, it will make you feel better," He instructed as he sat at an armchair across from her.

"Thank you," Rose said as she accepted the cup. "Sorry about all of that, it was more dramatic that I intended it to be." Remus chuckled.

"It's okay. I needed to hear that," He smiled. "So was it Snape's special class that clued you in?"

"That and an unusual Wolfsbane research project," She said.

"Severus was always the type to 'over-kill.'" Remus chuckled. She laughed with him.

"So, there's a lot that I have to tell you now, you know, if you're going to be a part of my life as my godfather," Rose said. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"What is this information, then?" Remus asked. He watched as an extremely Slytherin smirk spread across his goddaughter's face and a mischievous glint shined in her eyes. He couldn't help but smile. There was something familiar and comfortable about that mischief.

The story began. She described everything to him from her and Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley all the way to her and Harry leaving Sirius in the Chamber of Secrets for his own safety. Of course Rose left out particular details that she wasn't ready to disclose just yet. At some point, Remus promptly dropped his mug. It shattered and the hot chocolate spilled across the hardwood floor.

"S-Sirius? He's innocent," Remus gasped. He grasped the hand bars of the armchair.

"Yes," Rose said.

"And Peter? He's actually alive? He was the traitor?" Remus said. Rose nodded her head. There was a moment as they watched the hot chocolate seep into the floor. Remus picked up his wand. He mumbled a spell and the hot chocolate and broken mug disappeared.

"I want to go see him." Remus stood up. "Now." Rose nodded again. She stood up and made her way to the exit of the chamber. Remus followed her. She past his office, his classroom, and walked through the corridors of the castle. Remus followed her.

"Here," Rose said as they entered Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.

"A girl's washroom?" Remus asked with scrunched up eyebrows. Rose smiled at him.

"Always hide in plain sight, right?" She turned to one of the sinks and hissed something that sounded like nonsense to Remus. The sink began shaking and pulled away to reveal an entrance.

"Well, that's not on the map," Remus mumbled.

"Nor will it ever be," Rose added. She gestured to the entrance which was basically a glorified hole in the wall. "After you." He took a step forward and looked down. Darkness.

"How?"

"Just jump," Rose said. "There's a cushion at the bottom." She had that glint in her eyes again, Remus noted. The one that made her look like James especially with her lopsided smile. It reminded him that she was more than just Lily Evans's daughter. With one last breath, Remus took a small jump into the hole. It definitely felt like falling, and after the initial fear he started to get bored. Finally after a few minutes, he landed in what felt like a pile of mattress.

"_Lumos,_" He whispered. His wand illuminated the pathway. He expected to see a grotesque image of corpse and skeletons. Instead what he saw was a rounded corridor that looked like it had been scrubbed squeaky clean with bleach and fragrance. There were lavender colored tapestries and unlit lamps hung up. He casted another spell, and all of the wall lamps switched on. There was a pearly white carpet covering the floor stretching for what looked like miles. And yes, he was in fact sitting on top of a dozen of mattresses covered in pastel covered sheets. Someone tried very hard to make the entrance to the Chamber of Secret look (and smell) pleasant.

"Heads ups!" Remus rolled out of way right in time for Rose to come plummeting down from the hole and land in his previous spot.

"Who did all of this?" Remus asked. "I'm guessing that this isn't Salazar Slytherin's interior design."

"You can blame my house elf, Bubble, for that," Rose laughed. Remus got up and helped her to her feet. They continued to walk down the corridor. Remus noticed that the main route had other paths connected to it. From what he could see, they also received the same decorative treatment. Finally they reached a large door with two snakes on it. Someone had scrubbed the silver snakes so meticulously that they could see their reflections starring back at them.

Rose hissed again.

The door began to move. It slid horizontally to review a perfectly round doorway. They stepped through and saw the Chamber of Secrets. The chamber was originally one large hall lined with tall pillars, two parallel streams of dirty water, and different entrances to other small pipe like corridors. At the end of the hall were large marble steps that lead to a fifty feet statute of Salazar Slytherin.

Bubble had done her own work. Everything had been scrubbed until the marble shone like pearls. The streams of dirty water were replaced by clean spring water and pond lilies. Each pillar had yards of twinkle lights wrapped around them. Lavender tapestries covered all of the walls regardless of how high. White curtains sealed the entrances to the different corridors and white carpet covered the floor and the marble steps. Multiple large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The statue of Slytherin was left the same.

In the center of the chamber was the most interesting part. There was a king sized Victorian four poster canopy bed covered in a large white duvet surrounded by matching nightstands, bookcase, and dresser. In front of the makeshift bed room was a parlor. Another Victorian set with a couch, loveseat, two armchairs, and a coffee table. There was a bowl of fresh fruit on the coffee table along with a pitcher of water, a kettle of tea, and a tray of cookies. A record player sat near the couch playing an old _Beatles _album.

On the couch, an adult man in his early thirties was sprawled on the white silk fabric. Dressed in black slim cut jeans and a pressed white button down shirt. He was reading a small book while eating an apple with the other hand. His dyed blonde hair was clean and combed back into a small pony tail at the nape of his neck. Black stubble adorned his jaw.

"P-padfoot," Remus breathed out the name. Sirius looked up. The book and apple dropped to the floor. Sirius bounded from the couch and leapt over the coffee table. He ran towards the frozen man and embraced him tightly.

Rose took a step back. She allowed the two men their moment with each other. They held each other tightly and wept, mumbling nonsense that only the other could understand.

"Bubbles," Rose called out once she was a decent distance away from the two men.

Crack!

"Yes, milady!" Bubbles chirped as she appeared. Rose smiled broadly at the small elf and gave her a quick hug.

"I love what you've done with the place," Rose said. Bubbles beamed at her.

"Thank you, milady," Bubbles squeaked as she tried to repress her joy. "What can Bubbles do for Miss Lady Black?"

"Could you please bring down a table for four and bring down supper?" Rose asked. "Could you also get Dobby to tell Harry to come here?" Bubbles nodded her head so vigorously that Rose thought her head was going to fall off. Then she disappeared again.

"You know, Salazar Slytherin is probably rolling in his grave right now," Harry said as he walked up to his sister. He had arrived fifteen minutes after she'd called for him and had waiting by the doorway.

"I think Bubble's taste is lovely," Rose responded. "Almost makes you forget."

"Almost," Harry muttered. They stayed silent for a moment.

"So, they're in there?" Harry asked. Rose nodded her head. He turned to get a good look at her. Her red curls had grown very long. The ends reached her waist and she was constantly tucking her bangs behind her ears since they nearly covered her face. She had started wearing makeup, he noticed. Only a small bit, but it was enough for him to notice that her that her eyes were lined with black. He hoped that it wasn't for Cedric or some nonsense like that.

"Yeah," Rose said. She looked down at her hands and began scrapping the chipping nail polish at her finger nails.

"Why now? How do we know that we can trust him?" Harry touched the bridge of his nose. It was a force of habit. He always forgot that he no longer wore glasses.

"Because Remus is a werewolf," Rose commented as if she was talking about the weather.

"What?" Harry exclaimed.

"Calm down, Harry," She hushed. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf. That's why when our parents died we were dropped off at the Dursleys. Because our godmothers either dead or brain dead. Your godfather got sent to prison and mine was a werewolf. According to wizarding law, sole custody of non-blood related children cannot be granted to someone who is suffering from lycanthropy."

Harry looked at his sister. He examined her stance: leaning against the tapestry with her arms crossed across her chest. Something about what she was saying was comforting her.

"Okay," Harry nodded his head.

"What do you mean 'okay'?" Rose gave him a strange look. "'Okay' my godfather's a werewolf and we're all fine?"

"Rosie, by now, I've realized that nothing normal will ever happen to us," Harry said. "And if it just so happens that your godfather's a werewolf and mine is a runaway fugitive, then that's just a regular Sunday for us, isn't?" Rose shook her head and chuckled.

"Let's go in there," she said. She reentered the chamber. "They must be done talking by now." Harry followed behind her.

Harry gasped at the drastic transformation that the Chamber of Secrets had gone through. The Victorian bedroom and parlor had vanished and were replaced by a Victorian mahogany dining table with four high chairs. The table was covered in a white table cloth with four plate sets. Multiple platters with silver domes were also on top of the table. Sirius and Remus were sitting together, talking.

"Pups!" Sirius called out when he saw them. "Come sit! Bubbles brought dinner." They did so.

"Hello, Harry," Remus said.

"Professor," Harry greeted with a knowing smile. Sirius lifted up two of the silver domes. Slabs of roast chicken and a tossed salad. The last dome was baked sweet potatoes. Their goblets filled with pumpkin juice. Not so much a Victorian meal, but it would do.

"Isn't this lovely?" Rose giggled. She passed the salad bowl to Sirius. "It's like a family dinner? Isn't it?" Harry snorted, and took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

"Should we spend Christmas together then?" Remus joked. He scooped a few slabs of the chicken onto his plate.

"Yes, actually I think that would be smashing," Sirius said. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Remus asked.

"Definitely," Harry responded. "We're a family now. We're just missing a few members, but that doesn't make us any less of a family." Remus felt something warm and soothing fill his chest. He hadn't felt something close to that sensation in nearly twelve years. He looked at Rose and remember when she was one year's old back in the Godric Hallows cottage. He would put her on his back and run around the cottage, and she would let out squeals of giggles and call him 'Mooy! Mooy!'

"The real question now is if you all want a white Christmas or a sandy one?" Sirius smiled.

"Snow!" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm sure that I can contact Griphook and see if there are any Potter or Black residences in areas that would be in winter around that time," Rose said. A moment passed in silence as they continued eating their meal.

"So, kids, how have you been?" Sirius asked as if they were sitting for Sunday dinner in a suburban household.

"Well, the Whomping Willow destroyed my broomstick at our last Quidditch match," Harry said bitterly.

"Sorry, pub," Sirius said. "We could get you a new broom."

"Yeah, I know," Harry responded. "But there was a lot of sentimental value invested in that broom."

The conversation continued. Rose couldn't help but feel oddly satisfied at what was occurring before her eyes. The large and complex secret chamber of Salazar Slytherin that was constructed to harbor a dangerous monster was now a pseudo home for the most damaged and dysfunctional yet most loving families in all of the wizarding UK.

November 30th, 7:28 p.m. Severus Snape sat patiently at his desk, waiting. Of course, if you were observing you wouldn't know that the impassive man was anticipating anything. He flipped through countless essays, marking each with a bottle full of ink. He used a long dark feathered quill as his sword dipped in red to cut through the parchment and wound the student on the other end. The clock ticked away at the seconds. Severus knew she would be here promptly. She was never late. His eyebrow twitched slightly. 7:30 p.m.

A knock on the door.

"Enter." The door opened, and a young girl stepped in. Her curly red hair was down and pushed behind her ears. If she was any of his other students, he would have reprimanded her for not keeping her hair at an appropriate length.

"Good evening, Professor," she greeted him. He barely acknowledged her, and continued marking up essays. She had an arm full of parchment rolls, all tied together with a pretty yellow ribbon.

"I have my assignment, sir," she said. Severus carefully placed down his quill and screwed up his bottle of ink. He relocated the parchment on top of his desk into a drawer.

"Hand it in," he instructed. She took the short steps towards his desk and gently placed down the rolls of parchment. He gestured towards one of the seats in front of him. She sat down.

"Did you find the subject interesting?"

"Very."

"You came across a particular potion during your research, assuming that you completed your assignment sufficiently," Severus drawled. "From this point on, you will be assisting me with the creation of this potion."

She sighed, and grabbed on a lock of her hair. She curled it around her finger before releasing.

"Professor, are you aware that you're one of the few people that I've ever respected in my life?" It was a rhetorical question. He was taken back by it. "I never really had anyone to look up to when I was younger, for obvious reasons. And I was never very fond of adults, for other reasons. So when I met you, Professor, I saw you as a mentor, possibly as a surrogate to the father that I never had."

The corner of his mouth twitched. He was feeling uncomfortable with the level of intimacy that their conversation was gaining. There was another feeling that he couldn't place.

"But with all that respect and admiration, Professor," she continued. "I would aspect at least a fraction of it being reimbursed." Severus frowned, ever so slightly.

"Miss Potter, whatever it is that you are so erroneously accusing, I would advise that you reconsider," he barked out. She pursed in lips in a familiar fashion.

"I'll help you with that potion, Professor," she said. "But I'm not an idiot. I know what you were trying to accomplish, and you succeeded. However, if you expect me to betray _him _in anyway, then you don't even know who I am. If anything, you've made me sympathize more with _him._"

Severus clenched his jaw.

"You're private lessons will have to continue then," he stated. She smiled.

"Professor, could I hug you for a second?"

Severus frowned.

"Please?"

He made the slightest movement. She smiled again. He stood up. Before he realized what had happened, he felt two thin arms wrap around him like steel cables. The girl's head barely reached his shoulders yet her wild hair managed to engulf him. He was assaulted by the smell of berries and coffee.

"Thank you, Professor." Then she was gone. The door made a sound as it closed. Severus grinded his teeth and brought his fingers to his temper. He could feel his blood pressure rising already.

It was the night before Christmas holidays, and the third year Slytherins were lounging around their small cluster at their common room. Draco sat at the end of one of the couches. Rose's head was resting on his lap since she was stretched across the couch. Daphne was sitting on the floor leaning against Draco's legs. He was playing with Rose's hair as she read another one of her books about potions.

"Your hair's getting long," Draco commented.

"So?" Rose mumbled.

"It covers most of your face," He commented.

"Well, your butt covers most of your face." Draco rolled his eyes. Daphne snorted.

"Are you still coming over during the holiday?" Rose looked up at him through her hair.

"Sure, is it for dinner or something?"

"No, it's just the holiday ball." Rose shot up and tumbled off the couch.

"What!? A ball?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, the Malfoys hold one every year, Ro," Daphne informed her. "They invite only the most well-known and well off families of the wizarding world."

"Yeah, that," Draco mumbled. Rose huffed. She crawled back up onto the couch and leaned against Draco. She wrapped her arms around the blond boy.

"Could I bring Cedric?" Rose teased. Draco's nostrils flared and he sneered.

"If he enters my house, I cannot guarantee whether he exits alive," he growled. Rose giggled and kissed his nose. His cheeks became pink.

"How about Harry?" she cooed at him. Her face was about a few centimeters away from his.

"Definitely not him." She leaned in and kissed his nose again. "Stop that!" Rose smirked and slipped off the couch. She grabbed her book and headed to the dormitories.

"Where are you going?" Daphne called out to her.

"I gotta go find a fairy godmother for the _ball,_" Rose yelled back as she climbed the staircase to the dormitory.

The next day, the Hogwarts Expresses was chugging away from Hogsmeade. Everyone had piled into one compartment for the ride: Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Harry, and Rose. There was also Hedwig, Gwaine, Crookshank, Neville's toad Trevor, Draco's hawk owl Apollo, and Arthur (although he barely took up any space since he mainly stayed around Rose's neck). It was hard to fit nine people in a compartment made for six along with their pets. Everyone was talking and laughing and squawking and purring. They were the loudest compartment in the train.

"Excuse me?" Someone slid their compartment door. Everyone froze.

"Cedric!" Rose exclaimed. She was sitting on the floor besides Harry and Gwaine.

"May I borrow Rose for a moment?" Cedric asked politely. Simultaneously, Fred, George, Draco, and Harry rolled their eyes. Neville squeaked. Hermione and Ginny giggled. Ron was oblivious.

"Of course!" Rose responded and she jumped up to her feet.

"_Careful!' _Arthur hissed from around her neck. The black little snake had now grown to be a foot long and about an inch in girth. Cedric grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her out of the compartment. She shut the door behind them.

"I could hear you from the other end of the train," Cedric chuckled. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a peck on the lips.

"We're just having fun, love," She said. She went on her tippy toes and kissed him again. Cedric led her to an empty compartment. It was obvious that this wasn't the one he was staying in with all his mates since it didn't have any luggage or items in it. Cedric barely had time to close the compartment door before Rose jumped on him. They landed onto the floor and Rose continued her attack. She kissed him heavily before he finally pulled her back. Cedric lifted her up and placed her on a seat.

"You really are energetic," Cedric breathed out. He sat on the floor with his knee propped and his arm slung over it. "I can't even keep up."

"That was the plan the entire time," Rose cooed. She gave him a coy smile and kissed him again. Cedric pulled her down onto the floor with him again. They leaned against the wall and Rose curled into his side.

"What do you think of the nickname Rosie?" Cedric asked. Rose shook her head.

"Harry calls me that," she said.

"How about Ro?" He asked again.

"You could use it, but the girls call me that, love," she told him. Cedric groaned. "Face it, there isn't a better nickname than Ricky."

"Ha, ha," he responded sarcastically. "Maybe I'll just call you Rosalyn."

"Rosalyn and Ricky sound lovely together," Rose teased. "They're the kind of people to bring a fruitcake to the party." They laughed. Cedric turned to her again and cupped her cheek. They kissed for a few more minutes.

"Where are you spending the holidays?" Cedric asked. He took a hold of a piece of her hair and began to curl it around his finger.

"Switzerland," Rose responded. "The Potters have a house there that Harry and I are staying in."

"All by yourselves?" He looked concerned.

"Of course not, Professor Lupin will be there with us." Along with Sirius Black, but Rose decided to omit that.

"Really? Why him?"

"He's my godfather, love," Rose told him. She stood up and he followed. "I should get back to the compartment before the boys have a tiff."

"Alright," Cedric said. He twirled her around and kissed her again. "I'll see you once the train gets to the station."

"Definitely," Rose kissed him again.

Remus Lupin sat in an empty bench in Kings Cross, London. He was dressed in a pair of slim cut jeans, a white pressed button down, and a pair of suede shoes. Sirius had picked out the clothing for him when they went shopping in muggle London that morning. Of course, Remus felt slightly uncomfortable in this new, clean, well-fitting clothing so he chose to place a large knitted beige sweater on top of his shirt. It had a few holes and patches but Remus adored the sweater much to Sirius dismay.

Sirius, on the other hand, was sitting in a car at the station parking lot. He was dressed in a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt and a leather jacket. His hair was still blond, but he kept his black stubble. Remus still insisted that he kept his sunglasses on just in case someone looked at him. He sighed and gripped the stirring wheel again. Memories of him and James trying to teach themselves how to drive during one summer flashed through his mind.

He smiled.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

"Bloody thing," Sirius groaned. He picked the small plastic block that Remus made him buy. It was grey chunk with a small antenna. It has a buttons on the front as well: numbers and a bunch of strange symbols. He pressed the button that had the odd green handle image on it. Then he held it up to his ear.

"HELLO!" Sirius yelled into the box.

"You don't have to scream, Padfoot, I can hear you just fine," Remus said on the other line.

"I can never get a handle of these things," Sirius grumbled. There was a faint chuckle on the other line.

"I'm about to go into the platform. The train is about to arrive in a few minutes; just wanted to let you know."

"Alright, mate, I'll be waiting out here when you're ready."

"Remember, play it smart and stay inconspicuous."

"Moony, smart is my middle name, but I spell it O-R-I-O-N." There was a beeping on the other end.

"Hello? Moony?" Sirius checked the plastic box. 'CALL ENDED' flashed on the tiny screen. "Git."

Back in the station, Remus had walked through the wall in between Platform 9 and 10. He arrived in Platform 9 ¾ just as the Hogwarts Express pulled in. He waited along with the other parents and families, fiddling with the small cellphone that he had purchased early that day.

"Professor!" Suddenly he was attacked by a whirlwind of red hair.

"I saw you this morning at breakfast, Rose," Remus chuckled as the girl hugged him tightly.

"I know, but this is what everyone else is doing," she said. Remus looked around and understood what she meant. All of the students coming off the train were either embracing or being embraced by relatives.

Harry came quickly after her with two trunks behind him.

"You know, you could have helped with the trunks," Harry said.

"I got the animals!" Rose responded with a large grin. She lifted up Hedwig and Gwaine's cages. Harry rolled his eyes. Remus chuckled at their antics. He watched as the kids began to say goodbye to their friends (also his students). They greeted him as well, but he tried to stay as unnoticeable as possible. Even one of his fifth year students, Diggory, came to say goodbye to them. However after ten minutes, the Weasleys and Miss Granger were the only ones left.

"Please, remember to stay safe," Hermione was telling them. "Don't do anything stupid or reckless, understood? Just stay out of trouble."

"Impossible for them, trouble finds them," Ron added.

"We're more like the helpless victims," Harry said.

"Actually, trouble is my middle name," Rose smiled as she put her hands on her hips. Harry smirked.

"Yeah, and she spells it L-I-L-L-I-A-N." Remus's nostrils flared. Did Harry and Rose just make the same joke that Sirius made?

"Anyway, children," Mrs. Weasley said, interrupting their conversation. "I hope your enjoy your vacations. And just know that you three are always welcome over the holidays," she told Hermione, Rose, and Harry. "The same invitation goes for you too, Remus."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." The woman smiled at him before turning back to the children.

Finally, all the goodbyes and hugs were over, and Remus was leading the twins out of the station.

"Where's Lancelot?" Rose asked.

"Who?" Remus responded.

"That's what she calls Padfoot," Harry helped out. They walked out of the station and into the parking lot.

"He's in the car," Remus said. Harry and Rose both gave him identical looks of confusion. "What? You guys _gave_ Padfoot the money, and he decided it was an essential."

"Do either of you know how to drive a car?" Harry asked.

"Sirius does. One summer, him and your dad found a muggle car and taught themselves how to drive it," Remus said. He pulled out a small plastic box and dialed a number.

"Oi, Padfoot," Remus started talking into the phone.

"A cell phone?" Rose mumbled to Harry.

"And a car," Harry replied. "Sooner or later, we'll buy a helicopter."

"I can get down with that," Rose said. "We could paint it red and call it the 'Potter-Copter.'"

"Alright," Remus said as he ended the call. He turned to Harry and Rose. "You're not buying a helicopter." They laughed.

At that moment, a grey convertible (with the top up) drove up to them. The driver hocked at them. Remus pulled out his wand and shrunk the two trunks. Rose and Harry put their respective trunks into their pockets. Remus opened one of the side doors and pushed back the front seat so that they could get into the backseats. They entered the car. Harry opened Hedwig's cage and the snowy white owl spread its wings and flew away. She knew where she was going. Rose placed Gwaine's cage beside her as Arthur hid deeper into her jumper.

"Long time no see, pups," Sirius greeted them from the driver's seat. He pulled off the sunglasses and gave them a wink.

"We're getting a helicopter," Rose told him.

"Yeah, and we're naming it the 'Potter-Copter,'" Harry added.

"Rock on," Sirius smiled. "We can paint it red!"

"It's startling how much you three think alike," Remus commented as he sat in the passenger's seat and closed the door.

"Great minds think alike, Moony," Sirius said. He pulled out of the parking lot and got onto the main road.

"We're going to the London Heathrow Airport," Rose told them. She then recited the address for Sirius.

"Did you buy tickets? Sirius slow down, you're giving me a heart attack," Remus said. Rose shook her head and Sirius shrugged.

"But we have this," Harry said as he proudly pulled out a thick stack of bills held together by an elastic bands. "It usual gets us what we need." Remus sighed. Of course it did.

He stared out of the car window as the cloudy London streets zoomed by. Everything was too surreal. Since the moment Rose came to his office, everything has been changing and twisting and turning. He must have been dreaming. Yeah, that's it. This is a dream and at some point he'll wake up again alone and cold in a small house on the English countryside. It felt too good. Too good to know that his best friend was innocent and sitting beside him. Too good to have the children of his deceased best friends with him. Too good to know that everyone he loved didn't think he was a monster.

"Moony, we're here," Sirius said as he nudged his friend's shoulder. Remus opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep. He looked at the review view mirror. They had fallen asleep as well. Rose had slumped against Harry. A memory flashed in his head of James and Lily falling asleep together in the Gryffindor common room.

He smiled.

"They're wonderful, aren't they," Sirius said to him. "They're just like them."

"Yeah," Remus replied. "But they're different all at the same time." Sirius sighed.

"You know, when I was in that _place_ I have to constantly distract myself or _they _would get me," Sirius explained. Remus understood completely. "Do you know what I was thinking of?" Remus shook his head. "I was thinking of you Remus, and of James, and Lily, and Rose and Harry. I was thinking of our time together in Hogwarts, in the Order, in Godric Hollows." Remus looked at him. He noticed beneath the fake blond hair and happy attitude, there was a man just as tired yet just as relieved as him.

"Sirius, I-," Remus said, but he had nothing to say.

"My favorite memory was of our first Christmas with the kids," Sirius continued. "Rosie and Harry were barely the size of quaffles, and you and I were bouncing them on our laps while Prongs and Lils were sitting across from us making jokes."

"I remember that," Remus laughed. "Lily said that we looked like a couple with Rose and Harry on us. James nearly snorted eggnog out of his nose." Sirius chuckled.

"Yeah, that was my favorite memory," Sirius said.

"Memories are a powerful thing," Remus responded. "At least the good ones are."

"Siri?" Harry's voice interrupted them. "Are we here?" The two men turned to look at the kids.

"Yeah, we are," Sirius said. "Wake Rose."

Nearly three hours later, all four of them were sitting in first class of a large plane heading to Switzerland. Sirius still had his fake passport from Italy and they managed one for Remus as well earlier. They didn't have any luggage except for Rose's bag where their shrunken trunks were. Hedwig was flying peacefully to the European country. Gwaine was napping in his cage by Rose's feet and Arthur was still slung around her shoulder.

Their flight from London to Zurich took less than two hours. It was another hour drive in a taxi to get to Schwyz where the cottage was located. The cottage was an adorable two story house covered in white snow. When they entered, Dobby and Bubbles were waiting for them.

"M'lady!" Bubbles cheered as she hugged the red haired girl. She did so just as Dobby had hugged Harry with a cry of "Mister Harry Potter!"

"It's lovely to see you both," Rose said.

"Dobby, Bubbles, this is Remus Lupin," Harry introduced.

"Welcome Mister Remy!" Dobby said as he enthusiastically shook the sandy haired man's hand. Remus awkwardly smiled at the house elf.

"Thanks," he said.

"M'lady," Bubbles tugged on Rose's sleeve. "There is three rooms. Bubbles put a second bed in one of them."

"Thank you, Bubbles," Rose said. She looked up at Harry and he nodded his head. "Harry and I will share it."

"Why don't we go get settles upstairs and then we can start on dinner," Sirius offered. Rose placed down Gwaine's cage and opened the door. Gwaine strutted out, gave Rose a look of 'Finally,' and ran off into the house. She pulled the shrunken pieces of trunks and luggage and placed them on the ground. Remus enlarged the items.

"Dobby could you please put the kettle on?" Harry said. "Rose and I will take care of the rest." Dobby nodded his head vigorously and both him and Bubbles entered the kitchen.

They went up the stairs. Rose and Harry ducked in their room while Sirius and Remus flipped a coin to see who would get the bigger room.

"_Time for you to move," _Rose hissed at Arthur and she pulled off her sweatshirt.

"_Sssss! Cold!" _Arthur hissed as he fell off of Rose's arm onto the bed. Harry laughed as he watch the snake wiggle around on the bed before going beneath a pillow.

"_We sssshould get you a heating lamp," _Harry said. He went to the snake and allowed Arthur to slither up his arm. He gave his back to Rose as she changed.

"_Thank would be niccccce," _Arthur hissed. "_Or a hot rock!" _Harry continued to converse with Arthur while Rose went to the bathroom and then changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt. She took Arthur from Harry so that he could do the same.

Moments later the twins were in the kitchen preparing tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Sirius and Remus shortly came down as well and they enjoyed another nice dinner with each other.

Days passed and the family unit of four enjoyed their time together. They went hiking and skiing on the Alps and they even got a Christmas tree. They all sat in the living room one night putting up the tree.

Remus was rummaging through a box of ornaments on the ground while Rose was on the couch threading popcorn with a string. Harry and Sirius were trying to put the tree up.

"This one?" Remus asked. He held up a round silver ornament that had a symbol of little reindeer flying around.

"Yes!" Rose approved. "It will look nice with the green one."

"Bloody thing!" Sirius roared as the tree came falling to the ground. Remus chuckled and Rose gasped as she pricked her finger.

"We needed to screw the base in," Harry sighed.

"Hot cocoa!" Dobby announced as he entered the room with a platter of steaming mugs. He noticed the fallen tree and snapped his fingers. It stood up again and stabilized.

"Well that was a productive thirty minutes," Harry rolled his eyes. "Thanks Dobby." The elf smiled and placed down the platter on the coffee table before leaving.

"I like this one," Sirius said as he picked up an ornament of a porcelain lion.

"You can put it up now that the tree is up," Rose smiled.

"Isn't this great?" Harry said as he handed Remus and Rose mugs of hot cocoa. Rose beamed at him. He sat down next to her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her form. She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I was invited to a ball, by the way," Rose commented. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to her.

"Whose?" Sirius asked. He head the lion ornament in his hand tightly.

"Malfoys'" Rose responded as she looked down at her popcorn garland. Sirius scoffed.

"God, I hated those balls," he said. "I have to go to those stupid things every year when I was young."

"When is it, Rose?" Remus asked.

"December 28th," she said. She continued to thread the popcorn. "The garland's almost done."

"Don't change the subject, Rose," Harry said. "That's eight days away."

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything before," Rose told him. "But I really do want to go." She turned to look at Remus. "Can I?"

Remus eyebrows furrowed. Why was she asking _him _for permission?

"Yeah, I guess," he said. Rose smiled broadly again.

"Great! The garland's all done!" She stood up and held the popcorn threaded string up. The corners of Harry's mouth twitched and he stood up as well. He picked up the other end of the garland and assisted her. Together they wrapped the garland around the tree.

"Do you have a gown?" Sirius asked.

"What do you mean?" She said.

"I mean, everyone at those things get all dressed up," Sirius replied. He helped them wrapped the rest of the garland to the top of the tree.

"Oh," she said. "I forgot about that." She picked up the silver ornament and hung it up.

"There's a dress shop in town," Harry said. He picked up an ornament of a stag. Sirius and Remus gave each other knowing look.

"I'll go there later this week," Rose said. "Now, let's stop talking about it, and let's decorate this tree."

And they did so. For the first time in their lives, Harry and Rose were decorating a Christmas tree! As they decorated, Remus sat at an armchair reading a book while Sirius sat on the couch nearly asleep. After an hour and listening to the wireless radio play old Christmas carols, the tree was nearly completed. The only thing left was the star on top.

"Here," Harry said. He handed the golden star. She looked at it, and then handed it back to him.

"You do it," she said. "I want you to do it." He looked at the small golden star. It was merely gold painted wire twisted into the shape of a star with a spiral base. He looked at Rose again. He kissed her on her forehead.

Rose sat back down besides Sirius. They watched as Harry climbed one of the wooden chairs and placed the star on top of the tree.

"Christmas morning, we should make chocolate chip waffles," Rose announced.

"And blueberry muffins," Harry said. He got down from the tree and joined them on the couch.

"By the way, have either of you started your holiday homework?" Remus asked. He was greeted by silence and two awkward smiles.

"Let them be kids," Sirius yawned. "James and I wouldn't do homework until we were on the train."

"Not really an example they should follow," Remus grumbled, but it looked more like he was pouting. "And you should go to bed." Remus put his book down.

"Moonnnyyy," Sirius groaned as Remus pulled him onto his feet.

"Goodnight, get to bed soon," Remus said to Rose and Harry.

"Goodnight," they chorused as both men left the living room.

"You wanna help pick out a dress?" Rose asked. Harry laid down and rested his head on Rose's lap.

"Sure, but I don't really think I'll be any help," Harry said.

"I still want you to be there," she said.

"I will be," he smiled up at her. There is a moment of silence as they stared at the Christmas tree. Rose frowned as she felt a drop of dread settle in the pit of her stomach. Her hand instinctively reached for her emerald pendant and her brother's hand.

"Do you think that we'll make it?" Rose asked ominously. Harry frowned and looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Do you think that we'll survive?" Harry sat up and stared at her.

"I don't understand."

"Never mind," Rose mumbled. She stood up and picked up the platter of empty mugs. "Let's go to bed." Harry nodded his head and left with her. They stopped by the kitchen to drop off the platter before heading back to their room.

"Harry! Harry! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Rose exclaimed as she shook her brother awake. She was sitting on top of his bed while Harry hid his head beneath his pillow. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"I'm up," Harry groaned. He got up just as Rose bounded out of the room. He could only guess that she was off to give Sirius and Remus the same treatment.

After a few minutes, three groggy boys were making their way downstairs dressed in pajamas. Rose was already downstairs. She had been awake for the past three hours and was already dressed in a t shirt and a pair of jeans. She was making waffles in the kitchen. Dobby and Bubble were nowhere in sight since they were given the day off.

"Okay, I have the coffee machine on and the tea kettle on the stove," Rose said. "Bacon is cooking in the oven, muffins are on the table, waffles are on their way, juice is in the icebox, and eggs are done."

"You didn't have to do all of this," Remus said. "We could have helped out."

"I know but it's fun," she said.

"And it's gonna be fun to eat," Sirius added as he sat down. Remus and Harry helped Rose bring the rest of the stuff to the dining room table.

"Did you make blueberry muffins?" Harry asked astonished as he picked up the treat. Rose smiled at him.

"I had a lot of time," she said. They all sat down and enjoyed the breakfast and joking about anything and everything. Finally when they were done they headed to the living room where the tree was.

"Whoa!" Harry and Rose exclaimed simultaneously. The living room looked like something out of a Christmas movie. The sunlight shone on the tree causing the glass ornaments to glitter. Beneath it was a huge pile of brightly wrapped presents.

"What are you two just standing there for?" Sirius said as he entered behind him. "Go open your gifts!" They did not hesitant. They tore into their gifts and made notes for who to send 'Thank You' letters.

Rose opened a gift from Sirius. It was a Polaroid camera just like the one Colin Creevey have but it was completely green and didn't have the large obnoxious flash.

"Merlin's beard!" Harry exclaimed as he unwrapped a large gift. He pulled off the blue paper to reveal a Firebolt!

"Oh my god," Rose gasped as she saw the finely made wooden broom.

"I heard that something happened to your old broom, so I thought this could replace it," Sirius said coyly with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You really shouldn't have, Sirius, I could've just gotten myself a broom," Harry said.

"Aw, c'mon let an old man spoil his godson."

The day continued on, and Rose had taken multiple photos with her new camera. She even set the camera on an automatic timer so that all four of them could be in the photos. They enjoyed the peaceful and joyful day in each other's company and ended the day with a meal of turkey and hot chocolate.

The next day, Harry and Rose found themselves in a dress shop down in the small village. Harry was slumped in a small chair with a quidditch magazine in hand as Rose tried on multiple different gowns. He was vaguely reminded of when they have to retrieve their wands and it had took forever.

"This one?" Rose asked as she exited the dressing room in a long yellow dress with bell shaped sleeves.

"Lovely," Harry said. It wasn't really a complement at this point since he had said the same word to the last fifteen dresses.

"I don't know, I like the color yellow, but I'm not a fan of the sleeves." She tugged at the fabric. The store clerk scurried away again in order to retrieve more gowns.

"You've tried on a billion dresses," Harry grumbled. "Can't you just pick one already?"

"I have to pick the perfect one," Rose told him. "There's going to be a lot of important and wealthy members of the wizarding world. This could be the best opportunity to create more powerful connections."

"Whatever, Rose," Harry said as he rolled his eyes. The store clerk returned with an arm full of garment bags and handed them to Rose. Harry leafed through the magazine until Rose exited the dressing room again.

"Whoa," Harry said as he looked up from the magazine.

"This is it, Harry." She twirled around. "This is my dress."

Draco Malfoy leaned against the banister of one of the multiple balconies of the Malfoy ballroom. The entire room was nearly double the size of the Great Hall and was a brilliant shade of silver. The end of the room was adored by a gorgeous, large marble staircase that connected the rest of the manor to the ballroom. Large gold and crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling.

The heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy was dressed in the finest suit that money could buy could buy. He watched haughtily as the ballroom filled with his guests. Neither he nor his parents were meant to be at the ball since they had to be fashionably late to their own party.

Then, she arrived.

She entered without an escort which was to be expected since he told her not to bring her brother or boyfriend. Draco found himself glued to the vision of her. He felt the familiar sensations of affection taunt his mind. She looked stunning in a long dusty blue ball gown. It had a sweetheart neckline with a dark sash around her waist. The dress also had off the shoulder grey lacy sleeves. He noticed with delight that she was wearing the diamond earrings that he had given her along with a matching necklace. Her long crimson hair was held in an extravagant up-do.

Draco felt his breath hitch in his throat as he stared at her. She looked like a goddess and moved with the grace of an angel. He noticed that she was immediately surrounded other guests, both men and women who knew the benefits of being associated with the one of the last Potter heirs and the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Draco, darling, is that her?" The elegant voice of Narcissa Malfoy interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see his mother dressed in a deep blue silk gown with her blonde curls stacked stylishly on top of her head.

"Yes, mother," her son said as he turned back to look at Rose. Narcissa placed a manicured hand on her son's shoulder as she peered over the banister.

"She looks lovely," Narcissa noted. The girl in question was currently speaking with the Lord of the Blishwick House.

"Yeah," Draco answered as he stared at her.

"Come along, Draco," Narcissa said. "Let's go join your father." Draco numbly nodded his head. He looked at the girl once more, hating the warm pleasant feelings that danced in his stomach. He turned and followed his mother.

Down in the ballroom, Rose finally escaped from a crowd of people. Although she wanted to meet new people, she didn't expect to have so many different people bombard her as soon as she entered. It didn't help that she arrived alone to the ball. After shaking over a two dozens' hands and being greeted by an unholy amount of strangers, she was able to sit down at a small loveseat that was out of most people's line of view.

"Champagne, madam?" A voice said. Rose turned to the sound of the voice but only saw a silver tray of champagne flutes levitating in the air greeted her.

"Thanks?" Rose said as she accepted a glasses from the tray. The tray did not respond and continued to float away to the next guest. Rose placed the crystal flute to her mouth. The golden liquid tasted sweet and tingled the back of her throat.

"Attention!" A voice announced that echoed through the ballroom. "Introducing, the gracious hosts of the night, The Malfoys!"

The large silver double doors on top of the large marble staircase opened to reveal the three blonde-haired Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy had his long platinum hair held back in a silk silver ribbon. He was dressed in an extravagant silver tuxedo with a pair of elaborate dress robes. In his hands, was his usual ebony black cane with the silver snake head. Besides him was his beautiful wife, Narcissa Malfoy, with looks that could rival a Veela's. She was dressed in a dark blue gown and dress robes with her blonde hair stacked in magnificent curls on top of her head. Diamonds and platinum glittered around her neck and ears.

The youngest Malfoy and only child of the blonde couple, stood proudly besides them. His shiny silver hair was slicked back and he was dressed in an expensive suit and a pair of matching dress robes. His silvery blue eyes scanned the room lazily as the trademark sneer graced his aristocratic face.

Rose felt her breath hitch as she stared up at the gorgeous family. Her bright green eyes met a pair of silvery blue. Rose smiled up at the boy, and for a split second, a light pink blush adorned Draco's pale face before disappearing completely.

"Welcome," Lucius's voice boomed through the ballroom. "To another Malfoy Ball, may you enjoy the night!" With a clap, music began as a large orchestra started to play their instruments. Lucius extended a hair to his wife, who accepted, and the two made their way down the flight of stairs. They were the first to begin dancing, but were quickly joined by other pairs preforming the waltz.

"May I have this dance, Rose?" A voice asked. For a split second, Rose's heart skipped as she expected a certain blue eyed Slytherin. Instead, she was greeted with the brown eyes of Adrian Pucey, a six year and another Slytherin chaser.

"Er," Rose started to say to her teammate. She looked around at the ballroom. Everyone was still dancing the waltz. "I would love to, but I'm not feeling too well to dance. Sorry, Adrian." The taller boy frowned before giving her a polite smile and excusing himself.

From that point, Rose received a dozen requests to dance. Some from her housemates, others from male strangers that she did not recognized. Even a couple of women asked her to dance. Each time, Rose had to politely decline.

Rose found herself standing out in the balcony later that night. She tried not to think of her aching feet as she drank from her third flute of champagne. She felt slightly lonely and already missed her brother and uncles.

"Rose?" Draco Malfoy stood by the entrance of the balcony. Rose turned around at her friend's voice. A few defiant strands of long curly red hair escaped from her up-do.

"Draco!" Rose exclaimed as she hugged the taller boy (Well, nearly everyone was taller than her. Her and Harry were both still on the short side). "I've missed you so much!"

"You haven't danced," Draco noted perceptively. "Many have asked you to dance and yet you've reject them all." Rose frowned as she turned away for Draco. Wisps of red whipped around her as she faced the balcony's banister. She placed her flute of champagne back to her lips and emptied its contents.

"I'm don't see how that's any of your business," Rose commented coldly. Draco raised a perfect eyebrow as he walked towards his best friend. He placed a hand on the top of her bare back, right where her dress stopped. Her tan skin flushed warmly beneath his pale cold hand.

"Rose, you know that you can tell me anything," Draco told the girl earnestly. She turned to look at him with her sparkling green eyes and her parted red lips, still wet from the champagne. Draco mentally cursed Diggory to hell and back for existing because a large part of his usually nonchalant brain badly wanted to taste the golden alcohol that tainted his best friend's ruby lips.

"Mmmh," Rose mumbled beneath her breath. She turned away again, but Draco caught her by her elbow.

"Rose, I didn't quite catch that," he said. Rose sighed as she blushed harshly.

"I don't want to dance," Rose hissed as she pulled her arm from his grip. Draco frowned in confusion as he watched the redhead return to the balcony banister.

The blond boy quickly picked through his head as he tried to decide what was bothering the girl. He knew that Rose had a fear of drowning for some odd reason. He knew that she hated being stared at by large groups of people. He knew that she was extremely proud and worked hard never to look bad or stupid for her own sake. He knew that she despised anyone who insulted her or the ones she loved. He knew that she was extremely passionate about everything that she did… so seeing her so disheartened felt tragic.

"You don't know how to dance, do you?" Draco stated bluntly. "That's why you haven't been dancing with anyone because you don't want to look like a fool in front of everyone." Rose pulled her lips into a thin line and crossed her arms.

"So what?" Rose barked out. "Why does it matter?" More defiant long curls fell from her up-do framing her angry and embarrassed face in crimson.

"Dance with me," Draco commanded as he extended his hand towards her.

"Did you not hear me?" She was pouting now. "I can't dance."

"I'll let you stand on my feet," Draco said as he quickly shot a glance at his expensive black leather dress shoes. "Come dance with me." Rose frowned again as she stared at Draco's extended hand. After a moment, she sighed.

"Fine," Rose grumbled as she accepted his waiting hand. "But if you make me look like a fool I will castrate you, Malfoy."

"I'll look forward to it, Potter," Draco replied as a familiar smirk slid comfortably onto his alabaster face.

He led her back into the ballroom just as another song ended. People began to whisper and stare as the two third years went to the center of ballroom. Draco raised his hand and Rose placed her smaller one into it. He placed his other hand on her waist while Rose used her left hand to pick up the hem of her dress's skirt (like she had seen other women do). In one fluent motion, Draco had easily lifted Rose's smaller feet onto his one. To anyone watching, it merely looked like another decorative motion of grace that was expected from someone like a Malfoy.

The new song began, and the pair swept through the dance floor. No one dared join them since they were appeased by simply watching the young Slytherins glide gracefully along the marble floor. Draco danced with the poise of the pureblood that he was. Although Rose's movements weren't as fluid and elegant as her partner, she still looked striking as Draco twirled her around. Slowly, more long vibrant crimson curls fell from her hairdo yet it seemed to enhance whatever strange charm that she possessed.

By the end of the song, the two parted. Draco bowed and Rose curtsied. As soon as she dipped her head, the rest of her hair fell forward, releasing waves of springy cerise hair from its imprisonment. Rose flushed scarlet at her hair's betrayal yet she quickly dismissed it as Draco offered his hand to her again. She accepted it and together they returned to the balcony.

Time flew by and Draco and Rose stayed together in the balcony, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Suddenly, the large grandfather clock in the Malfoy's ballroom began to ring twelve times.

"Oh, shit!" Rose exclaimed as she gathered the skirt of her gown and started to run away.

"What? What!" Draco called out. He chased after her. Her running was obviously hindered by something since Draco was able to catch up to her quickly. They passed by the ballroom without much notice, but in the entrance hall, Draco caught her again by the elbow.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked her. Rose tugged her arm back.

"I have to leave! My Portkey is supposed to arrive now!" Rose said quickly before running away again. Draco trailed after her. He watched as she exited the manor before stumbling down the marble staircase of the house. Once she reached the polished grounds, she ran towards a lawn ornament that appeared too out of place in the manicured grass. It was a large orange pumpkin.

"Goodbye my Prince!" Rose called out and waved at Draco. Then she touched the pumpkin ornament and the next second both it and the girl disappeared.

Draco frowned curiously as he stared at the spot that Rose once was. In the corner of his eye, he saw something twinkle. He descended down the staircase until he reached what had caught his attention. He picked up the object that Rose had left behind. It was a glass slipper...

**...**

**I hope that you enjoyed the holiday fluff in this chapter with Moony and Padfoot and the cutesy stuff with Draco and Rose. Next chapter will have even more quidditch games by the way and will be a bit more action filled so look out for that!**

**Please remember to review and tell me what you think of the story! Thanks!**


	18. Stags and Swallows

**Hello again! Here is the next chapter that finishes off the Prisoner of Azkaban arc. This chapter has a lot more action and doing than the previous, but I hope you like it anyway! Please leave a lovely review and enjoy!**

Chapter 18: Stags and Swallows

Several months passed, and the trio (Harry, Rose, and Remus) had returned to Hogwarts, leaving Sirius behind in Switzerland (as far as they knew). The school year continued on as normally. Everyone raved and enjoyed Professor Lupin's defense classes especially after they had Lockhart and Quirrell as teachers and all the first years received unrealistic expectations for their future professors. They all resented the once a month class that Snape would substitute for.

Sirius wrote both Harry and Rose (and Remus) letters throughout the school year. He was quite smart about it though since he signed it Padfoot (or Lancelot when addressed to Rose) and charmed them to only be read by them (apparently Bubbles had happened him acquire a new wand since his own was snapped before being thrown in Azkaban). He also made sure that three different owls delivered the letters time so no noticed that the same person was sending letters to the Defense professor and Potter twins.

After Slytherin won against Ravenclaw (much to Rose and Draco's delight), Oliver Wood increased the practices that he held for his own team to five a week. Therefore Harry's schedule was extremely full especially since he had taken up Patronus lessons with Professor Lupin and Rose. He badly wanted to learn the protective charm in order to avoid another dementor incident in preparation for the quidditch match against Ravenclaw. Professor Lupin was more than happy to teach his pseudo-nephew and goddaughter. Rose had simply tagged along for moral support and to also learn the spell.

Rose was also continuing her advanced lessons with Professor Snape and was helping brew the wolfbanes monthly. She found that her schedule was also quite full with her lessons from her favorite teachers and her own set of quidditch practices (although Flint was not as much as a slave driver as Wood). However, she would always make time for Cedric. The couple would often be seeing together on Hogsmeade trips, having tea together on Sundays, and eating lunch together at the Hufflepuff table.

However, Hermione was possibly the busiest person on campus and the only one still taking eleven class. It had previously been twelve, but she was blown up at the divinations professor and dropped that course. It did nothing to lessen her workload or her need to use her time turner. Of course, Ron did nothing to help his friend since he was convinced that her cat had eaten his missing rat. This had a caused a large fight between the two in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.

Draco on the other hand, had gotten into a fight with his father about the upcoming trail of a particular hippogriff named Buckbeak. While his father insisted on prosecuting the magical creature, Draco was trying to defend it. Of course it wasn't because he cared about the animal. In actuality, he didn't give a rat's ass about what happened to the large beast, but Rose had begged and pleaded with him to save the creature.

Currently, Rose was sitting in the Defense classroom on a Thursday night while Harry attempted to cast the Patronus charm. Professor Lupin stood to the side giving Harry instructions. A chunk of Honeyduke's best chocolate was held in Rose's hand as she watched her brother.

"Expecto patronum," Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto patronum."

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Oh, yeah," said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "Expecto patrono - no, patronum - sorry - expecto patronum, expecto patronum"

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

"Did you see that?" said Harry excitedly. "Something happened!" Rose smiled widely and clapped her hands together.

"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. "Right, then - ready to try it on a dementor?"

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the classroom. Rose held onto her chocolate as she tried to concentrate on her own memories.

Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.

A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath.

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto -"

But Harry was slowing sinking to his knees as he words began to slur. Rose was quick to hop to her feet as she raced towards her brother. She wrapped a comforting arm around him, but was bombarded with the icy sensation that only the dementor could provide. Fortunately, Remus _quickly_ pulled out his own wand and whipped it at the dementor-turned boggart.

"Riddikulus!" The dementor turned into a wisp of smoke and returned to its chest. Rose and Harry sat down on the floor, and she offered her brother her chocolate. The dark-haired teen reluctantly accepted the treat and took a bit from it.

"All right then..."said Lupin. "You might want to select other memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on. That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough..."

"What were you thinking of, Harry?" Rose asked. Harry frowned slightly and glared down at his chocolate.

"Our eleventh birthday, when we rode our brooms for the first time," he said. "But it wasn't strong enough."

"It's alright, Harry," Lupin said. "It's a hard charm to accomplish."

"But we've been practicing for so long," Harry grumbled. "And I have to! What if the dementors turn up at Gryffindor's match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"

"Then Slytherin would win," Rose teased as she fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "Which really wouldn't be that bad of a thing."

"As if!" Harry retorted. "I won't allow it!"

"Well then," Lupin chuckled. "Rose, would you like to try now?" She nodded her head and walked towards the boggart's chest.

"Remember, think of your happiest memory," the sandy haired professor reminded as he began to open the box.

Rose took a deep breath as she began to draw her memory. She had been thinking of it ever since they started their lessons, but this would be the first time she would use it. At first, she was very dubious that it would be her happiest memories. However, after memories of holidays with her brother, dates with Cedric, Quidditch games, and moments with her friends were not strong enough to produce a Patronus, Rose knew that she had to use something else.

"Ready?" Professor Lupin said as he opened the chest. Rose gripped her wand tightly as she concentrated on her recollection. Images of the Chamber of Secrets clouded her mind. She recalled the holding Harry's dying body in her arms as Fawkes cried over him. Dread and misery filled the pit of her stomach as the dementor boggart approached her, reminding her of how heartbroken she was at the time. Rose tried her best to ignore it as she concentrated.

She thought of the precise second when Harry's eyes fluttered open to reveal bright jade eyes as life returned to him. She thought of how color and warmth returned to his soft skin all at once. She thought of the utter and pure joy that erupted through her body as she watched her brother returned from the dead.

A warm bubbling sensation spread from her chest to the rest of her body as the mere memory comforted her.

"Expecto Patronus," Rose barely whispered as she held her wand at the dementor. Silvery wisps spilled from the tip of her wand. Intertwined between the white ribbons was a tiny barn swallow. It fluttered its small wings and let out a chirping sound before flying towards the dementor. The dark creature let out a rattling sound as the bird chased it back into the chest. Rose laughed as she watched the little swallow puffed up her wings proudly and tried to intimidate the larger creature. Satisfied with its accomplishments, the bird flew back towards Rose and landed on her extended hand. It chirped pleasantly before finally evaporating away into white vapor.

"Amazing!" Remus exclaimed as he watched the red haired girl with a large smile. Harry was standing beside him, gapping widely.

"Wow! Rosie that must have been a strong memory!" Harry commented as a lopsided grin appeared on his face. He frowned when he noticed tears begin to fill his sister's eyes. "Rosie?" Rosie then proceeded to attack her brother with a bear hug.

"I love you so much, Harry!" Rose cried as she held onto her brother.

"I love you too, Rosie," Harry chuckled as he patted his sister on her back. On the sidelines, Remus watched the siblings with a small smile on his face. It was a small comfort to know that even without their parents or godparents, the twins were never truly alone because they always had each other.

A few weeks later, Rose found herself back in the Quidditch stands. It was a lovely clear day with a slight breeze, a drastic change from the first match of the year. She sat in the Gryffindor stands with Cedric's arm draped around her and Draco sitting on her other side. She had haphazardly slung Harry's red and gold scarf around her neck and had her green camera in hand.

"I don't get why you lot can't sit with your own houses," Ron told the three non-Gryffindor. Hermione quickly jabbed him in the side.

"Ron! They're here supporting Harry!" the brunette witch exclaimed.

"Why? They're the opposing teams," Ron grumbled before shooting a dark look at the Hufflepuff and Slytherin seekers. Both boys shrugged before saying:

"I wanted to sit next to Rose."

This caused Hermione to giggle and Rose to turn red as she tried to pretend to be preoccupied with her camera. Cedric and Draco both shot each other dirty looks while Ron looked confused. Over the course of five months, the two seekers had decided that neither was particular fond of the other. The only thing keeping them in each other's vicinity was their mutual agreement to act civil for Rose's sake. Although the redheaded girl prided herself in being perceptive and resourceful, this was one thing she was oblivious to.

"That's Cho Chang," Cedric informed Rose as the Ravenclaw team came out (everyone else was also listening). "She's the Ravenclaw seeker and a fourth year. She's pretty good, and recovered from her injuries just in time for this match."

"Yeah, but she's riding a Comet Two Sixty," Draco drawled, giving Cedric a pointed look. "She's barely a match for Harry's Firebolt."

"She's pretty," Rose commented as she examined the attractive Asian girl. Cedric simply shrugged.

"Her hair's awfully dull though," Draco said as if that was all that mattered.

The Gryffindor stands began to roar with cheers as its team came out. Rose was quick to join them as she called out her brother's name loudly. She quickly snapped a picture of her brother as he waved at her. The two teams shook hands, Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Fourteen broomsticks rose in the air (although the most impressive was Harry's) and the match began. Lee Jordan's commentary boomed through the stadium coupled with McGonagall's scoldings. Throughout the game, Rose snapped pictures. She got some of Harry making a few loops and dives and even a couple of Fred and George hitting the bludgers towards the Ravenclaw chasers.

Harry and Cho Chang zoomed around together as they tried to spot the snitch. There was a moment when Harry had seen the small golden globe before a bludger came zooming at him, breaking his concertation. Then Cho had noticed the snitch and the two had raced together only to find that it had disappeared again. It wasn't until Harry noticed the snitch for the third time did something bizarre happen.

Below in the quidditch stadium were three dark figures dressed in long black cloaks. Rose frowned as she stared at them and felt fury fill her core.

"Bloody Flint!" Rose exclaimed. "I told him that this was a terrible idea!"

"Oh, they're actually doing this then," Draco noted. Cedric, Hermione, and Ron shot them confused looked, not knowing that they weren't actually dementors. The day before, Marcus Flint had called an impromptu team meeting. All he had to say was that he wanted them to dress up as dementors and try to scare Harry during the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match. Rose was obviously appalled by the idea and refused to participate. Draco was quick to follow after her along with Adrian Pucey who wasn't in the mood to get into trouble.

"Oh!" Cho Chang exclaimed, finally noticing the three figures below her. This caused Harry to look down and notice them. In one fluid motion, Harry whipped out his wand and bellowed:

"EXPECTO PATRONUS!"

Large silvery wisps escaped from the tip of his wand follow being the large form a bright white stag. The male deer sprang out of the holly wand and charged towards the dark figures with a roar. The corporal patronus knocked over the three bodies, exposing Marcus Flint, Crabbe, and Goyle before disappearing into a cloud of silvery vapor.

However, Harry did not pay his corporal patronus any attention because he was busy catching the snitch.

The Gryffindor stands erupted in cheers and applause and were quick to rush the field. The red and gold quidditch team returned to the ground and Harry found himself being held up by Fred and George. Rose, Ron, Hermione, and Draco were also down in the field and had joined the crowd. Cedric stayed behind, knowing not to intrude in the friend group of third years.

"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!"

"That's my boy!" Oliver Wood boomed as he shot his arms into the air.

"Good job, Harry!" Rose exclaimed. "That patronus was amazing!"

"What?" Harry asked with wide eyes. "Did I actually make one?"

"Hell yeah! It was the biggest stag I've ever seen!" Rose yelled back while Harry grinned widely.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"That would be because they - er - weren't dementors," said Professor Lupin. Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased. "Come see."

He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field, and Rose tagged along.

Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall.

"An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"

"I tried to tell them it wasn't a good idea," Rose pipped.

The next two days consisted of a constant partying from the Gryffindor tower. You'd think that they'd already won the Quidditch Cup. The common room was filled with treats and Butterbeer that Fred and George had smuggled from the kitchens and Hogsmeade (thanks to Misters Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs). Rose and Draco obviously weren't allowed into the celebrations since the last match was between the snakes and lions.

The next few months happened in a blur. Everyone was in a panic as they started to prepare for their exams and anticipate the final quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Unfortunately, the match came and went and was won by Gryffindor much to Rose's irradiation and Harry's delight. This celebration lasted five times as long as the one before it. The Gryffindor Tower was in an uproar of partying and cheer for nearly two weeks and not even McGonagall had the heart to break it up.

However the festivities found themselves halted by the arrival of June and the awful exams that followed it. All of the students were forced inside of the large castle as they attempted to study (or at least attempt to). The stress of the exams were extremely apparent for those partaking in the NEWTS or OWLS. Percy had been on a rampage as he studied for his NEWTS and Cedric seemed to have disappeared as he studied for his OWLS. Even Fred and George were seen working in preparation as well. Rose was also no stranger to the pressure of the OWLS since she was supposed to take her Potion OWLS this year.

The third year's first exam was transfiguration although Harry and Ron wondered how Hermione was supposed to attend since she had Athermancy scheduled for the same time. Rose and Draco kept their mouths shut, wondering when Hermione would decide to tell her friends about her nifty little gadget.

Next came charms followed by Ancient Runes which only Rose and Hermione had to worry about. Care of Magical Creatures were on Tuesday although most of the exam time was spent trying to comfort Hagrid who had lost Buckbeak's trial. Then it was History of Magic (this time Rose decided to draw a large brown wolf, a black dog, a tall stag, and a tiny barn swallow on her exam paper instead of writing about the medieval witch hunts).

Wednesday was Potions which was quick for the other third years in comparison to Rose's OWL. Hers had taken the entire day and she had to reschedule her Herbology exam for the next day. After coming out of the exam, Rose didn't want to see a cauldron for another two months. Later that evening was their Astronomy exam, and on Thursday they had their Defense exam which was an interesting obstacle course fashioned by Remus.

Finally being relieved off all of her exams, Rose was stretched out by the Great Lake after coming from the greenhouse. She used her Slytherin robe as a blanket to stretch out on as she waited for her friends. While Ron and Harry had Divination, Hermione and Draco still had their Muggle Studies exams.

"Woof! Woof!" Loud barking drew Rose's attention. She shot up at the sound of it and to her horror saw a large black dog standing over her.

"Sir-Lancelot!" Rose exclaimed. "When did the blonde potion wear off? How did you get here? Why are you here?" Lancelot jumped into her arms, in an attempt to stop her from asking too many questions. He licked her twice on the nose before running off.

"Lancelot!" Rose shrieked as she chased after the dog, leaving her Slytherin robes behind. She ran after him dressed only in flip flops, a yellow t-shirt, khaki shorts, and wand in hand. She finally stopped to catch her breath as Lancelot ran off.

"Damn you, Sir-lot," Rose grumbled as she clutched her side. She was somewhere between Hagrid's hut and the Whomping Willow. How the hell did Sirius get back to Hogwarts? Why was he here? What was going on?

As if to answer her question (or further her confusion), Rose watched Lancelot bursted out a throng of trees… dragging Ron by his arm. Ron howled and wailed as the large grim-like dog dragged him towards the Whomping Willow. The canine was able to dodge the trees thrashing arms and pulled Ron towards an unnoticeable gap by the roots.

"Ron!" Suddenly Harry and Hermione sprinted out forward with Crookshanks at their heels. They looked like they had just trudge through the woods with dirt covering their trousers and shirts and twigs sticking out of their hair.

"Harry?" Rose exclaimed in confusion as she ran towards them.

"Rose?" Harry replied in equal confusion. He gave his sister a look that said: '_What the fuck?_'

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"We were visiting Hagrid after our exams and then the Minister showed up to take Buckbeak so we were hiding in the trees but then he showed up and dragged Ron-"

"Help!" Ron cried out.

"Ron!" Hermione wailed in reply.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground - but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"Oh my god! We need to help him!" Hermione wailed out as she grabbed her curly brown hair.

"The Willow will destroy us before we have the chance," Harry replied. He tried to figure out how to approach the tree.

"There must be a way!" Rose responded.

Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Good kitty!" Hermione yelled as she scooped up the ginger cat. The kneazle hissed slightly before jumping back onto his feet.

"C'mon!" Harry said as he grabbed his sister and friend's arms. The group of three (and Crookshanks) made their way into the gap between the roots and began to crawl through the dirty tunnel.

"Do you know where this leads?" Hermione asked warily as she followed the Potters. Crookshanks was actually in the front, leading all of them.

"No, but the Marauders Map said this tunnel leads somewhere into Hogsmeade," Harry quickly answered. Light began to seep through the tunnel and an opening was seen. Crookshanks went through first with his bushy tail swishing behind it. The three teenagers quickly crawled out of the tunnel and raised their wands.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Rose looked at Hermione who looked scared shitless. Harry on the other hand had a look of confusion and anticipation. Rose could relate. Why had Sirius dragged Ron away? They knew that the man wasn't the most stable of beings, but he was sane enough not to do something this stupid. So where was the logic in all of this?

"I think we're in the Shrieking Shack," Hermione whispered to her friends. They was a yelp of pain that echoed through the house. Warily, they walked towards the sound.

Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Hermione dashed across to him. Rose and Harry stayed behind.

"Ron - are you okay?" Hermione asked as she kneeled next to the redhead. "Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap -"

"What -"

"He's the dog... he's an Animagus."

Ron was staring over Rose and Harry's shoulder. They wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

Standing before them was a man that looked nothing like his mugshot. Clean, thick dark hair hung to his shoulders and framed a pale aristocratic face with a finely groomed beard and a pair of startling grey eyes. He stood tall and dressed in fresh cerulean wizard robes. In his hand was a new cedar wand.

"T-that's Sirius Black!" Hermione cried out as she clutched onto Ron.

"Harry! Stand back!" Ron warned his friend. Instead Harry stood firmly in front of the escaped prisoner of Azkaban. Rose stood beside him with her arms crossed.

"Dear merlin, you're an idiot," Rose grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"No, Rose!" Hermione exclaimed in terror. Sirius took a step towards the twins.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

A deep chuckle vibrated through Black before his eyes softened.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Hermione to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened. Rose frowned.

"Always the one for melodramatics, I see," Rose commented. Ron and Hermione gasped at her nerve and to their shock, and _Harry laughed. _

"You know me too well," Sirius Black smiled as he clapped a hand on Rose's shoulder.

"Y-you've gone crazy," Ron croaked out as he held an accusing finger towards Harry and Rose.

"Harry, he's after you," Hermione whispered softly as she kept a cautionary eye on Black. "Don't you remember what Minister Fudge said at the Three Broomsticks? He betrayed your parents. He's a criminal. He's after you!" Harry opened his mouth to respond when something interrupted him.

Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor - someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly and raised her wand at Sirius. "WE'RE UP HERE -SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted as he entered the room. Hermione and Ron's wands both flew out of their hands and landed deftly in his.

"Professor! You have to help us!" Hermione called out desperately to the sandy haired man. "Give us back our wands!"

"I think Sirius Black has done something to them! Imperio-ed them or something!" Ron added. Lupin seemed to have ignored them as he turned back to Sirius and the twins.

"Where is he, Sirius?" As those four words escaped Remus's mouth, a cruel grin spread across Sirius's handsome face. He raised a hand and pointed at Ron. Rose gasped in realization.

"That's why you took Ron. He has the rat," Rose stated as she stared at Ron with the same cruelty. Harry's eyes widen. For the first time ever, Hermione and Ron saw something they had never seen before. They saw hatred fill the dark haired boy's green eyes as he looked at Ron.

"Where did you find Scabbers, Ron?" Harry asked firmly.

"He was outside of Hagrid's hut when we went to visit him today," Ron spluttered, obviously alarmed by his best friend's demeanor.

"That's just on the border of the Marauders' Map," Lupin stated. "That's why we couldn't see him. I've been checking on it ever since you let me hold on to it, Harry."

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione shrieked as she glared at her Defense professor. "I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you -"

"Hermione, listen to me, please'" Lupin shouted. "I can explain -"

"Hermione, please calm down," Harry said to his friend.

"Ron, give us Scabbers," Rose repeated again. She hadn't looked away from the ginger boy. Ron's eyes widen as she tried to crawl away from her.

"You're bloody mental," he said as he clutched something to his chest. "He's just a rat, Rose!"

"Give us the rat, "Sirius grumbled, obviously annoyed at Ron's resistance.

"Just listen, Ron," Lupin added.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants Harry dead too - he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," Lupin said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Suddenly, Rose let out a bunch a giggles and Harry couldn't repress his smile anymore.

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

"Don't say that!" Rose snapped and all of her giggles vanished. "Don't say it like that!"

"You're mental!" Ron roared at her. "You slimy Slytherin! You're siding with werewolves and criminals!"

"Ron!" Harry yelled and gave him a furious look.

"Not you too, Harry!" Ron blanched.

"I'm tired of this!" Sirius said as he charged towards Ron. "I've waited twelve years! Give me the goddamn rat!" Ron looked like he either wanted to cry or scream at being this close to Sirius Black.

"No! Please stop!" Hermione said as she tried to shield her friend.

"Hermione, love, just let us have Peter Pettigrew," Rose said as she crossed her arms.

"He can't be Pettigrew!" Ron said. "He's just Scabbers!"

"No, he isn't, Ron," Harry said. "That rat's Peter Pettigrew. He's been hiding as his animagus form for the past twelve years. He was the real secret keeper. He was the one who betrayed my parents, and then he framed Sirius for it."

"No!" Hermione responded righteously. "All animaguses have to be registered to the Ministry and I've checked the registry. No one's been registered for the past twenty-five years!"

"Ha!" Sirius chuckled. "I'm sorry little girl, but not everyone follows the rules." This seemed to have offended Hermione more than anything else because the witch lashed out and forcefully pushed Sirius away from Ron.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed as he grabbed the girl.

"Have you gone mad, Harry?" Hermione shrieked as she struggled in Harry's arms. "He's a criminal! A murderer!"

"No! He's isn't!" Rose responded.

"Is that so?" sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing, directly at Lupin.

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Lupin grimaced. Rose frowned.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a goblet along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus -" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain, everything is fine. Sirius is not here to kill Harry -"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf -"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

With anger fueling his movement, Snape raised his wand at Lupin. Rose and Harry, who seemed to have been thinking with the same brain, raised their wands simultaneously at Snape and shouted.

"Expelliarmus!"

Their combined power was enough to cause Snape's wand to fly out of his hand and propel his body backwards. Snape rebounded off a wall with a loud crack and landed on the four poster bed. Crookshanks hissed as his spot was taken by the new intruder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Professor," Rose sighed. "But sometimes you can be very stubborn."

"I think—I think I've figure it out now," Hermione gasped suddenly. A calculating look appeared on her face to show how hard she was thinking. Then she lunged at Ron.

"Hermione!" Ron cried out in surprise as Hermione pried Scabbers out of his hands. She threw the rat onto the floor. The grubby creature tried to scurry away but Rose was quick to stomp her foot on his tail. Lupin picked him.

"Together?" Sirius said quietly. He pulled out his own wand.

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One - two - THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly -Ron yelled -the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then -

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Rose. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Rose saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see.

"S - Sirius... R - Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."

Sirius arm rose –and before Remus could stop him—he landed a punch square in Pettigrew's face. The plump man fell onto the floor and squeaked as he clutched his nose.

"He's going to try to kill me!" Peter wailed. He turned to the four children. "Please, children, help me! He's going to kill me like he killed James and Lily!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THEIR NAMES," Harry roared while Rose decided to land a hard kick to Pettigrew's gut. The small man squeaked again.

"I'd kill you myself," Rose hissed.

"No one's killing anyone before we get things sorted out," Lupin said.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again' the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! He's going to try to kill me again like what he did to Jam-"

He was interrupted by Rose grabbing his by the collar and pulling him up. Her biceps were muscular from Quidditch and she barely phased by lifting him.

"If you ever speak such lies again," Rose hissed. Her voice was soft and deadly, sending shivers down the rest of the occupants of the room. "I'll pull your tongue out and cut it off."

"Rose," Lupin said warningly as Pettigrew let out screams of fright. "Put him down." She tossed the man back onto the floor like he was a sack of floor.

"You may not die today," said Rose. "But I swear, that one day you will and when that day comes, it will be by my hands."

Peter transformed back into a rat before trying to run away. Lupin quickly stunned the pest and Pettigrew returned to his human form.

"Such a nuisance, isn't he?" Lupin chuckled as he casted another spell. Black rope flew from the tip of his wand and wrapped tightly around Pettigrew, incasing him like a mummy. The man was woken up by the cords tightening around him.

"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too. "We will kill you."

"So, he's been Scabbers the entire time?" Ron asked flabbergasted. Everyone nodded at him (even Hermione who had pieced everything together). "And you're innocent?" He pointed at Black. Everyone nodded again. "Blimey."

"Right," said Lupin, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."

He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "Rose and Harry were just a little -overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

Sirius raised his wand and muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tossed it to Harry who tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Sirius, nudging Pettigrew with his foot. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," said Lupin.

"And me," said Ron, limping forward. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult.

"Ron, let me do it," Rose offered. "You're leg's still hurt and you shouldn't put more weight on it."

"Alright," Ron grumbled. He stumbled slightly and Hermione was there to catch him. Blushing darkly, he allowed the brunette to help him.

Sirius conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Rose's left. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

Then began the strangest march the Hogwarts grounds had ever seen. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Rose went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by Sirius's wand. Harry stood beside Sirius while Ron and Hermione brought up the rear.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Rose had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling.

"So why did you come to Hogwarts? I thought you were in Switzerland with Bubbles," Rose heard Harry asked. Rose tried to turn her head to look at them but found herself unable to due to the manacles.

"Eh, I was getting a bit stir crazy being cooped up in that cottage all the time," Sirius responded. "And I just had to come and find Pettigrew."

"You're mental, you know," Harry commented with a sigh. This caused both Lupin and Rose to laugh and Sirius to chuckle and wrap an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Just wait, I'll be free and Pettigrew will be locked up, and then we can be one family," Sirius said. "We can move into the house in Wales and spend summers and holidays together, all four of us."

"I'd really like that," replied Harry. He had a lovely smile on his face as he looked over the occupants of their small group. Minus Pettigrew and Snape, this was basically everyone he loved: his twin sister, his two best friends, his pseudo-uncle, and his godfather.

They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel.

Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Rose clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches. Rose watched as Snape levitated forward through the gap followed by Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Sirius was the last to exit.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Rose sneered at the bound man and he squealed.

"One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then…

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Rose who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry, Hermione, and Ron stop.

"Professor?" Rose asked as she turned to look at the sandy haired man. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Sirius whispered to the trio. "Run. Now."

"ROSE!" Harry yelled for his sister. He tried to run towards her, but Sirius held him back.

Rose stood transfixed at the sight of her godfather. His hazel green eyes shifted and turned into a startling shade of amber.

"Go, Rose," Remus panted in a hoarse voice. "Run."

There was a terrible snarling noise. Rose watched in morbid fascination as Lupin's head lengthened. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. That was loud snapping as his bones began to break and reform and his skin stretched.

Pettigrew used this moment to transform and escaped from the manacles. This snapped Rose out of her trance and she lunged at the animagus. She caught him and held him in a vice like grip. The rat tried to bite and scratch at her hands but she didn't relent.

Then a howl pierced through the night. Rose rolled onto her back to see the large creature before her. The huge wolf-like beast that stood before her had dark patchy fur covering its lithe body with a pair of dangerous amber eyes. Long claws adorned its paws and sharp fangs hung out of its mouth.

"Moony, please," Rose breathed out. The beast didn't listen and charged towards her. She jumped to her feet and began to sprint away. As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward.

But it was too late.

Rose felt a large paw smack against her back. As it did so, three jagged claws dug into her left shoulder and ran diagonally across her back before pulling out from her right hop. A piercing scream sounded through the air, and later Rose would realize that it had belonged to her. But that didn't mattered. Savage agony surged through her back like waves of magma abusing her flesh. She tried to open her eyes but only saw white. The rest of her body went numb except for her back which continued to pulse with pain.

"ROSE!" Someone cried out. Rose didn't notice as the rest of her world went black.

…

**Bit of a cliffhanger, isn't it? Hope this was good! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Next chapter is the start of the Goblet of Fire which will obviously begin with the summer before their fourth year! Very exciting! I will try have the major plot points of that year, but I will probably stray off cannon quite a bit. Don't worry though, Voldy will be making an appearance at the end of that year, one way or another : ).**


	19. Vomit and Cement

**Hello, friends. Here is the first half of their fourth summer. Approximately 8,000 words without my author notes in the beginning and end. There's a lot of Rose, Harry, Sirius, and Remus in this chapter aka the dysfunctional family and not so much of the other characters. Next chapter will have more people in it because of a certain quidditch match. **

**There's a few things I want to say real quick to get off my chest: Have you guys noticed me mentioning the unruly state of Rose's hair? I constantly bring that up as a description because I like to think that she inherited that from her father and that both her and Harry both have crazy curly wild hair and that the only reason why hers doesn't stick out like Harry's is because it's too long. I believe in the book, Lily Potter is described to have shoulder length hair and I just assumed that it's kinda straight. So like Rose looks like Lily but she just so happens to have James Potter's hair if James decided to dye his hair red and grown it out.**

**Second, does anyone else imagine Sirius as a lovely mixture of Eoin Macken and Russell Brand? As much I love the wonderful hair of Gary Oldman he doesn't really have the mischievousness of Padfoot. And I just can't imagine Remus with a moustache, but I do imagine him with shaggy sandy hair and being a complete and total softie.**

**Anyway, enough of my ramblings, enjoy the story.**

Chapter 19: Vomit and Cement

When Rose opened her eyes again, she was no longer lying on the Hogwarts grounds. Instead, she laid in a small bed covered in starchy white sheets.

'_The hell?' _She thought. She sat up quickly (which wasn't a good idea since her bones aches and creaked). She reached over to touch her shoulder, only to find it covered in white bandages. The room was the same bland color and seemed to be some sort of a hospital room. The small iron clad bed and a bedside table stood in the center of the room. In one of the corners was a large cream colored armchair covered in a mountain of stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, balloons, and treats. In the other corner was a full sized mirror. On top of the bedside table was a thin black stick. She quickly grabbed it.

"At least I have you," she mumbled. The familiar ebony wand felt comforting in her hands. Testing herself, she swung her legs over and attempted to stand up. She swayed slightly but was able to stand. Her back pulsed, but it didn't hurt anymore. She took a few steps, and was able to reach the mirror.

Her reflection stared back at her. A thin girl stood there with pale skin after not having seen the sun for so long (she made a mental note to go tanning at some point). A thin white patient gown hung from her body and was disturbed by the thick gauze that was wrapped around her torso. Her hair was washed. But obviously not with her own special shampoo because her crimson hair was extremely frizzy and heavier. With a sigh, she pulled her hair over her shoulder – her good shoulder—and began to braid it. Pleased with her accomplishment, she returned to her reflection to examine her bandages.

Rose pulled off the white gown and unraveled the gauze. She turned her back to the mirror. Her head turned over her shoulder to try to see her reflection.

She gasped.

Three dark pink strips marred the pure white flesh of her back. The cuts had been healed, but the scars would stay.

"Oh, Miss Potter, you're awake," A voice said. Rose quickly pulled her gown back on, discarding her bandages. At the room's door was a women dressed in light green robes. The front of the robes had the logo of St. Mungo Hospital and a name tag read 'Healer Ambrose."

"Why am I here?" Rose asked cautiously. She gripped her wand tightly in her hand, not knowing whether this lady was friend or foe.

"Because of your injury, dear," Ambrose said. She began to pull the curtains away from a window that Rose had not noticed. Sunlight seeped into the room. "You were attacked by a werewolf a week ago. Headmaster Dumbledore quickly brought you to St. Mungo as soon as it happened."

Rose frowned. Memories began to flood into her mind of Lancelot, the Whomping Willow, Pettigrew, and Remus.

"D-do you know how I was attacked?" Rose asked in a small voice. Ambrose turned to her with sympathetic eyes and kind smile.

"According to Dumbledore, there was an unknown lycanthrope hiding in the Forbidden Forest, and apparently you were out past curfew and got attacked by it," Ambrose explained. Rose finally let out the breath that she was holding. No one knew the truth, thankfully.

"I want to see my brother," Rose demanded firmly. "And my godfather!"

Ambrose smiled again at the small girl.

"Of course, Miss Potter, but please let me first perform a few diagnosis tests." Rose shot the healer with a suspicious look. She glared at the women before reluctantly sitting down on the bed.

"There are more of those in the lobby for you," Ambrose said as she waved her wand around Rose. Different colors glowed around her. "So many people wanted to wish you well and there wasn't much room to place all of your gifts." She was referring to the pile of flowers and favors on the armchair.

"How many people know of my _injury?" _Rose asked. She glared at the pile.

"Nearly the entire wizarding world, dear!" Ambrose replied. "It was in the Daily Prophet, right beneath Sirius Black's emancipation!"

"He's innocent," Rose gasped. Did the Ministry get Pettigrew? Was Sirius finally free?

"Yes!" Ambrose beamed, obviously pleased to have someone to gossip with. "Apparently, Peter Pettigrew was found alive and was actually the real mass murderer! He framed Black! Could you believe it? The Minister saw Pettigrew himself and promptly gave Black his freedom. Ministry even had to pay quite the fine as reimbursement for falsely imprisoning him. I heard that they didn't even give him a trial!"

"D-did they get Pettigrew?" Rose breathed out. She was hanging on to the healer's every word as satisfaction filled her stomach. The healer cocked her head to the side as she tried to recall.

"Now that I think of it, I believe that he escaped when they tried to arrest him," Ambrose admitted.

"Bloody rat," Rose spat out.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing," said Rose. "I wish to see my brother and guardian." Ambrose nodded.

"Very well. I will floo call them." She flicked her wands and clothes appeared on the bed. "I'll leave you to change." With that the healer left the room.

Rose was quick to her feet and pulled off the ugly white gown from her person. She began to dress in the clothes on the bed and was pleased to see that they were actually her own clothing. It was a pale yellow sundress that had tiny bows on the straps. She recognized it as Harry's favorite dress on her; he must had picked it out. Pleased with also having her own bra, underwear, and scandals, Rose dressed. Once she was done she turned back to the mirror.

Despite the braid, her hair still looked atrocious. She looked down at her wand and multiple beauty charms and spells swarmed her brain.

'_Should I? Would I be charged with underage magic?' _Rose pondered. '_That letter from a few summer ago could only sense that there was magic in the area. And this is a *magical* hospital so there must be a lot of magic going on. Maybe they won't sense a tiny little charm.'_

Testing her luck, she pointed her wand to her head and said:

"_Pedicabo comae_."

Her hair unwound from its braid and instantly de-frizzed and smoothed out. Rose waited a few minutes, and when no owls came flying through the window, she decided to leave the room.

The corridor was just was white as her room. It seemed completely deserted and small. She walked down to the double doors at the end and saw a sign hanging above it. It read:

'Lycanthropy Ward.'

Rose frowned. Thoughts of Remus Lupin flooded her mind.

Of course she forgave him. Why wouldn't she? He was still her godfather and he hadn't meant to hurt her.

But knowing Remus, he had probably buried himself in a mountain of guilt and self-resentment. Therefore, Rose decided that she had to go see him right away and tell him that everything was fine. She was still alive and wasn't infected. And even if she was infected she still wouldn't blame him.

"Pup!" Came the sound of Sirius Black's voice as he entered the ward with his godson in tow.

"Rose!" Harry Potter called out. He ran down the hall and engulfed his twin sister in a hug. "Thank Merlin you're alright!" Rose chuckled as she returned the hug, finding comfort in the boy's embrace.

"Of course I'm alright," Rose assured. "It just a scratch."

"Just a scratch?" Sirius scoffed. "You were covered in so much blood that we thought you had died!" Harry looked very grim at the thought.

"What? Never mind that," Rose said, she led them back to her patient room. "You two need to tell me everything that happened that night!"

They entered the small white room again. With Rose and Harry sitting on the bed and Sirius sitting on the armchair (after he had pushed off all of the get well gifts), they began the retelling the story of that wicked June night.

After Moony had attacked Rose, a howling had sounded in the forest which caused the werewolf to run towards the sound. Then all of them (Harry, Sirius, Hermione, and Ron) rushed towards Rose and carried her off to the Hospital Wing back in the castle (Harry decided to leave out the fact that he had started to cry after seeing his sister in such a state). Once in the Hospital Wing and after Madam Pomfrey had screamed at the sight of them, Rose was floo-ed to St. Mungo's Hospital because the medi-witch wasn't qualified enough to deal with werewolf related injuries.

Throughout all of this Rose hadn't let go of Pettigrew even in her unconscious state. Dumbledore had appeared along with Minister Fudge (who was still there from Buckbeak's execution) and both men had seen Pettigrew transform back into human form and confess to his crimes after ingesting truth serum (provided by a very annoyed conscious Snape). He was then placed in a cell in the West Tower (but quickly escaped by, you guessed it, transforming into a rat). Once being told this, Rose promptly began swearing up a storm. She quieted down after being reminded that the Minister had given Sirius his freedom back instantly.

Then came the more interesting part of the story. Harry and Hermione (Ron couldn't come because of his broken leg) had used her time turner ("Finally! I thought she was never going to tell you, Harry!" "What? You knew? Why didn't you tell me?" "It wasn't my secret to tell, duh.") in an attempt to stop Pettigrew from escaping. They traveled back enough to save Buckbeak from being executed (who was currently residing in the Black cottage in Wales) and to be the howling in the forest that caused Moony to back off. However, when they tried to stop Pettigrew, they were confronted by a herd of dementors. Harry was able to cast an impressive patronus to hold them off. By then, their time had run out and they had to return to the castle before anyone knew what happened.

"And Professor Lupin?" Rose asked. A look of worry adorned her face. Harry sighed and Sirius seemed sadden. "What happened to him?"

"You have to understand, Rose," Sirius started. "That only you, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape, Madame Pomfrey, and myself know that Remus was the one to hurt you. And no one blames him, well except for Snape, but that's not the point. He's well—er—"

"What? What happened?" Rose asked.

"He resigned," stated Harry, looking just as upset as Rose felt. "The very next day, after he transformed back, he handed in his resignation to Dumbledore, and left. Didn't even say a word to Sirius or me or even anybody. He was just gone." Rose's eyes widened in shock.

"W-what?" Rose spluttered. "He's gone?"

"I'm so sorry, pup," Sirius sighed. He looked down at his hands and examined the digits. "I tried to look for him, even Dumbledore tried, but Moony just vanished."

"We _have _to find him, Sirius," Rose said firmly. "I need him to know that I don't blame him for this. I need him to be with us." Tears began to brim her eyes. Harry wiped them away with his thumb. "We're a family, remember? We need to be together."

Sirius, who wore a solemn expression, nodded his head.

"We will," he said. "We will find him."

"But it's been nearly a week and a half since we last saw him," Harry added. "Professor Lupin could be anywhere at this point."

"I don't care," was the redhead's only reply.

In the next moment, Healer Ambrose returned into the room with a clipboard in hand. She seemed a bit surprised at seeing Sirius and Harry in the room. She gasped and dropped her clipboard.

"So sorry!" she squeaked, and picked up her board. "I had no idea that you'd arrive so quickly, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter."

"We floo'ed over as soon as you informed us," Sirius replied, flashing the witch a charming smile.

"Of course," Ambrose said. She cleared her throat and returned to her clipboard. "Well, Miss Potter, you seem well enough to depart however there are a few things I will need to inform you off."

"What is it, ma'am?" Rose asked politely. Ambrose seemed conflicted to continue and looked over at Harry and Sirius. Rose noticed. "Anything you need to tell me, you can tell them."

"Alright, then," the medi-witch responded. "Well, although you weren't infected by lycanthropy, there are a few—er—symptoms."

"What exactly are these symptoms?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Well, Miss Potter's senses might begin to amplify," Ambrose replied. She turned back to Rose. "Your sense of smell and hearing will heightened. You might also find yourself having more stamina and endurance than you had before."

"These all seem pretty rad," Rose commented. "It seems like I'll be better at quidditch." No one laughed at her joke.

"Yes, but there's more," Ambrose continued in a grave tone. "During the full moon, you will definitely find yourself affected by it. You will most likely suffered through mood swings, aggression, severe headaches, and a craving for raw meat."

"Well, I already go through that once a month anyway," Rose said lightheartedly. This time, Harry snorted. Ambrose and Sirius didn't seem amused.

"This is very serious, Ms. Potter," the witch said. "Although you haven't been turned, other werewolves will be able smell your scent and confuse you for a lycanthrope."

"Wait? But how is that possible?" Sirius asked. He knew a bit about werewolves from research he had done after finding out about Moony's furry problem, but the Hogwarts library (and most libraries) didn't have much about werewolves except how to recognize and kill them.

"Well, not much is known of lycans since most do not enjoy being prodded and studied by wizards and witches," Ambrose said. Rose frowned at this. She didn't like how the healer was referring to werewolves like they weren't human. "But from what we do know is that once a werewolf's scent is placed upon someone in such a way, it cannot be removed."

"Werewolves have scents?" Harry asked.

"Yes, from what we've gathered, all werewolves have a particular scent that distinguishes them from non-werewolves," Ambrose replied.

"Well that's lovely doc," Rose said as she stood up. "Thanks so much for everything, but I think we'll be leaving now. Have all my get well gifts owled to me. C'mon Harry, Sirius." With that, Rose rushed out of the room, leaving the ward, and ignoring the healer who was calling after her. Sirius and Harry were both behind her.

"You might not want to leave through the front door, pup," Sirius warned as they reached the lobby of the hospital. It was too late because Rose had already exited through said door. As soon as she did, she was bombarded by flashing lights and voices.

"Miss Potter! Is it true that you were bitten by a werewolf? Is it true that Fenrir Greyback infected you?"

"Miss Potter, what is your opinion on the recent emancipation of Sirius Black?"

"What is the opinion of your brother, The Boy-Who-Lived, on your current situation?"

"Miss Potter!" Reporters and cameramen continued to harass and blitz her. Rose stood there, shellshock at the sudden attention.

"Miss Potter! Will you now be joining a wolf pack? Is it true that you'll be married off to a werewolf?"

This was enough to snap Rose out of her shock because she raised her wand pointed it at the nearest reporter (who was a tall witch with curly blond hair and horned rimmed glasses).

"Back the FUCK OFF BEFORE I FU-" Rose roared at them. Before she finish her thought, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

Suddenly, Rose couldn't see anymore, and she felt her body being squeezed through a small tube. When she was finally let out, she stumbled down onto a hardwood floor. She looked up to see that she was laying in the middle of a decent sized living room. It had a set of matching burgundy armchairs and couches. Bookshelves lined the walls along with portraits of landscape. A large fireplace flickered in front of a wooden coffee table. In the middle of a wall was doorway to a corridor that seemed to lead to the rest of the house.

"Wha-?" Rose groaned as she rolled over. Beside her, Sirius stood with an amused expression on his face.

"I side-apparated you out of there before you caused a riot in wizarding London," he explained. A second later, the fireplace roared with large green flames and Harry stepped out of it.

"Thanks for leaving back there," Harry grumbled as he brushed the shoot of his shirt.

"I had to," Sirius shrugged. He swung himself over into the couch. "The press _literally_ wanted to have a field day with her."

"Don't worry, Rose you'll get used to ignoring them," Harry said. He extended his hand to her and helped her up. "Welcome to the Den."

"I wanted to call it 'Padfoot's Pad' or the 'Marauder's Sanctum,' but Harry wouldn't let me," Sirius said.

"Because those sound ridiculous," Harry said as he sat down in one of the armchairs.

"So this is the cottage in Wales?" asked Rose. She sat down in the other armchair.

"Yup," Harry replied. "Pretty cozy. Buckbeak likes to stay in the forest nearby."

"This is one of the few places that my mother didn't fuck with too much with her gothic style," Sirius added. "And Bubbles already had it cleaned up for us."

Crack!

At the mention of her name, Bubbles had appeared. She ran and jumped into Rose's arms.

"Miss Lady Black!" the house elf wailed as she clung to the redhead. Large tears streamed from her purple eyes. "Bubbles was so worried about Miss Lady Black! Bubbles don't wanna lose Miss Lady Black!"

"It's alright. I'm fine, Bubbles, don't worry" Rose consoled as she hugged the small creature. "I'm fine." Bubbles sniffled and wiped her tears away.

"Miss Lady Black is so kind!" Bubbles wailed. She hopped off of Rose's lap and tugged on her arm. "Bubbles wants to show Miss Lady Black her new room!" Rose turned and gave Harry a look.

"Go ahead," he said. "Check it out, and come down for dinner." With that, the small creature dragged Rose through the entrance corridor and up a flight of stairs.

"There's three rooms for Mister Sir-lot and Mister Just Harry and Miss Lady Black," Bubbles explained.

"Is there a fourth room?" Rose asked.

"Only an attic, milady," Bubbles said.

"Can you do me a favor and turn the attack into a bedroom for Professor Lupin?" said the redhead. Bubbles nodded her head viciously.

"Bubbles will prepare Mister Remy's room!" came her squeak. The house elf seemed really excited to have something to do and started to bounce up and down. She contained herself long enough to open the door to Rose's room before popping away.

Rose's room (which had an endearing little sign on the door with read: 'Rosie's Room' with a two backwards 'R's that Bubbles had made) was adorable. The walls were lined with yellow wall paper that had magical little white birds fly around. In the center was a large four poster twin bed with white sheets and a spring green duvet. Gwaine was sleeping top of one of the pillows with Arthur snoozing beside her. In front of the bed was her trunk from her dormitory with her broomstick placed on top of it. A brown wooden desk and chair sat in the corner next to a matching bookcase. Her schoolbooks and supplies had already been placed on the shelves. Parallel to them was a wardrobe and a large window.

"Tap, tap." Something rapped against the window. Rose went towards it and opened the shutters. Four barn owls came flying in with their wings flapping loudly. Each owl had a large bundle of gifts and flowers tied to their poor legs. They flew over to her bed, dropped off their load, and flew out again. Gwaine hissed at the intrusion and hopped off the bed and onto the desk with Arthur still slung around her.

"Thanks, I guess," Rose said as she closed her window again. She turned back to the large pile on her bed, and sighed. "Well, I guess I have to go through them."

And she did. She separated all the flowers and only kept the white lilies and sunflowers which were from Cedric (who was the only person who knew that roses _weren't _her favorite flowers). From the gifts, she decided to donate all of the ones that weren't from her close friends. Therefore she had Bubbles vanish three bundles of teddy bears and toys (they would reappear in the Salvation Army down in the muggle town). All the candies and treats were quickly discarded because Rose didn't trust strangers not to poison her.

Finally she was left with letters and gifts from Cedric, Draco, Hermione, Daphne, Ron, Neville, Fred, George, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasely. Her favorites were a stuffed cat that looked a lot like Gwaine from Hermione (Gwaine was not fond of the impostor and turned it into a scratching post) and a teddy bear with a Gryffindor scarf around its neck and a lightning shape mark on its forehead from Neville.

Sitting at her new desk, Rose began to shift through her friend's letters and began to answer them. Cedric was extremely worried about her, wanted to know what happened, and told her that he wanted to see her as soon as possible. Rose told him as much as she could without mentioning Lupin's furry problem and planned to meet with him later in the summer. Hermione was worried shitless about her and listed nearly everything she could find out about lycanthropy. Rose replied to her and assured her that she wasn't a werewolf now and everything was fine. Ron was also worried and blamed himself for not being the one strapped to Pettigrew and Lupin. Rose told him to get over it and everything was fine. Draco (who was informed of everything by Hermione) was furious at her for two things: first, for not including him on their little adventure, and second, for getting herself hurt in the first place. Rose replied with a "next time you can come along to the 'let's see how we can die this time' adventure" and "it's my body I can do what I want to" (all lightheartedly obviously). All of her other friends simply wished her best and Rose replied with thank yous.

"Tap, tap."

"Hm?" Rose said. Her hands were already stained with ink and cramping from all the writing. A stack of rolled up parchment sat on the desk. "Another owl?"

This time, the bird was impatient and bursted through the window without waiting for someone to open it for it. The owl was a tiny ball of green puff and it dropped a package on Rose's head before flying away.

"That was a bit rude," she grumbled. Gwaine meowed in response.

"_What isss it?" _Arthur asked. The black snake slithered up Rose's arm. "_You sssssmell sssssstrange." _The small serpent noted.

"_Get usssssed to it, mate," _Rose responded. She began to tear open the package. Inside was a stuffed bird toy that looked a lot like a barn swallow. Rose frowned. A swallow? There were only two people in the world who knew of her connection to swallows and one was missing somewhere and the other was sitting downstairs. Another thing spilled out of the package: a pair of earing that looked like radishes? There was also a letter in the package that was on blue stationary and smelled like cinnamon. It read:

_Hello Rosa Potter,_

_You may not know who I am, but don't worry, the nargles have told me so much about you! Of course not too much obviously, those pesky things aren't really fond of dogs, and you seem to have a lot of them. _

_Anyway Rosa Potter, I wish you well and hope that you heal nicely. I've heard that dogs help healing quite a lot, and the more you have near you, the better. You seem to have quite an affinity for them. _

_Also I hope that you enjoy your gifts. I believe it is your spirit animal and my father believes that knowing that helps you stay safe. I also made you a pair of earrings. They protect against blibbering humdingers and crumpled-horn snorkacks. _

_Enjoy your summer and continue to dream._

_Earnestly, _

_Looney Lovegood_

"_Quite odd, isssn't ssshe?" _ Rose said after reading the letter. Arthur poked his head out and looked at the parchment, as if reading it.

"_I can't read," _Arthur said. Rose laughed.

"_Then why did you try?" _Rose chuckled.

"_It sssseemed like the appropriate thing to do," _the snake replied. Rose went to right a letter in response.

_Dear Looney Lovegood,_

_Thank you so much for you gifts and advice. How did you know that I liked swallows? Also how did you know that I have dogs? How much do you know of them?_

_Are you a student at Hogwarts?_

_Thanks for the protection._

_Equally As Earnest,_

_Rosa Potter_

"ROSE! DINNERTIME!" Sirius yelled from downstairs. Rose grabbed all of her letters and went downstairs. Past the living room was a small little kitchen with a dining table for four. Both Harry and Sirius (who was reading a Daily Prophet) were already sitting there with the meal set out in front of them.

"Harry, could you get Hedwig to deliver these?" she asked.

"Sure thing," Harry said with a smile.

"This Rita Skeeter chit has quite the imagination," Sirius noted as he put down the paper.

"What she's saying this time?" Harry asked. They began to eat their meal that Bubbles had prepared.

"Apparently she's trying to say Pettigrew escaped by transforming into hippogriff and flying away," said Sirius.

"Well, she's halfway there," Harry said.

"Anyway," Rose said, changing topics. "How are we going to find Remus?"

"Well, he's probably in the muggle world," Sirius said. "He usually runs off there."

"How could we look for him there?" asked Harry.

"We could use the muggle methods," said Rose. "I mean, we could file a missing person report with the police."

"The muggle way, huh?" pondered Sirius. "I suppose we could try that. We'll start tomorrow."

The next day, Monday June 13th 1994, they began Operation: Weres Remus. And, yes that is a pun. And yes, Sirius did come up with it.

They started off by registering Remus Lupin as missing with the police in Wales. Then proceeded to report the same case to every police station in nearly every major city and town in the United Kingdom. After three days and no responses from the muggle police, the three extremely impatient wizards and witch decided to take things into their own hands.

This activated phase two of Operation: Weres Remus. This consisted of going to every pub and inn in a hundred kilometer radius of Hogwarts. Using a stilled picture of Remus that Rose took during the winter holidays, the three of them divided up the locations and visited each one. This lasted for over a week without anyone recognizing Remus.

On Friday June 24th 1994, Rose stepped into a muggle pub named "The Wild Bull's Tavern." She went to the bartender and show him a picture of Remus.

"Aye, I seen him," the bartender said. Rose's eyes widened.

"Really? When was he last here?" Rose asked. The bartender raised his eyebrows and looked at her up and down.

"Who are you anyway, eh?" he said. "You his daughter?"

"No," Rose sighed. The bartender grimaced.

"You ain't his girlfriend or something?"

"Ew! No! I'm his niece, alright? Now, have you seen him or not?"

"Yeah, I know 'im. Works down in Mr. Louis's barn down yonder," the bartender said. "Started there a few weeks ago, but calls himself Rupert, not Remus though."

"Thank you so much," Rose said. She ran out of the pub. Immediately, she began her search for Mr. Louis's barn. After a few minutes, she found it (thank merlin for signs).

Jumping over the gate, she ran past a herd of sheep before stopping. '_A wolf hiding amongst sheep,' _she thought, '_how ironic.' _She continued to walk through the stranger's farm in search for her lost godfather and suppressing the urge to say 'Here, doggie doggie.'

"Rose? What are you doing here?" A voice asked. Rose whipped around so fast that she nearly knocked herself over.

"Professor!" She exclaimed. Before stood Remus Lupin…but he looked worn down. He was slouching slightly and was wearing a pair of patched up trousers and a tattered shirt. His skin looked sallow and he seemed to have gained new cuts and bruises. His eyes had dark bags and he just looked so tired.

"You shouldn't be here, Rose," he said, in a hoarse voice. "You shouldn't be near me."

"What do you mean, Professor," Rose said. "I missed you so much. I was so upset when I woke up and you weren't there."

"You shouldn't be near me," Remus repeated. "I hurt you." Tears began to build up in his eyes, and he started to back away. "I need to go."

"No!" Rose shouted. "Don't go! You need to come back." She ran towards him and grabbed his arm.

"Don't, Rose!" Remus sighed as he pulled his arm away from her. "I'm a monster! I'm a filthy animal and all I do is hurt you."

"Don't you fucking dare," Rose growled. "Don't you make me yell at you again, Remus Lupin, because the last time that happened we both ended up crying and eating chocolate."

"Rose-"

"No! I'm not done talking," she said. Rose grabbed his arm again.

"I'm not a child. You can't talk to me like that," Remus snapped, his still demeanor breaking away. "I'm hazard to you and everyone else, alright? I'm not some nice little professor. I'm a dangerous monster-"

"With all due respect, Professor, shut up," Rose barked back. Her green eyes gleamed passionately. "You're _not _a monster. I've forgiven you. Please just come home."

"How could you say that? I hurt you," Remus huffed. "I cut up your back. I could have killed you or worse, turned you."

"I said I forgave you," Rose protested. Frustration tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her arms tightly around the older man. "I love you, professor. You're my godfather and I need you in my life. I'm not just gonna let you suffer and hate yourself. You're not a monster. You're a human being and I care so much about you. Please, please just come home with us." They were both crying by now, standing in the middle of some old guy's field with white sheep staring at them warily.

"I'll hurt you," Remus breathed. "The full moon's in two weeks, and I don't know what I'll do if I hurt you again."

"I don't care. We have a cellar and I know how to make the Wolfsbane potion," she countered. "You need to stop being afraid of the full moon, professor."

"Rose, you're such a stubborn girl," Remus chuckled as he hugged her. "But I can't put you through that again."

"Like I said, _I don't care,"_ Rose repeated. "Please just come home, please." She pulled away and looked up at him.

"But what about Sirius and Harry? What if they're angry at me for hurting you?"

"They're not," Rose said. "Because if they were, they wouldn't have spent the last two weeks looking for you with me." Remus's eyes softened at her words.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course, Moony," came the voice of Sirius Black. Rose and Remus turned around to see Sirius and Harry standing at the edge of the field, both wearing lopsided grins.

"Padfoot? Harry?" came Remus's intelligent reply.

"Professor, all _three _of us care for you," Harry said. A beautiful smile broke across the sandy haired man's face.

"C'mon, let's go home," Rose said.

The small, mended family of a werewolf, an animagus ex-convict, the Boy-Who-Lived, and a stubborn girl found their way back to their latest home, ignoring the pesky, prejudiced, and prying world that surrounded them.

In the household of Potter-Black-Lupin, habits began to form. A regular day would start with Rose waking up at dawn, and going down to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. With her cup of coffee, she'd sit at the kitchen table reading and responding to the letters of her friends. Her favorite correspondent quickly became 'Looney Lovegood.' The odd girl was quite interesting and funny. Apparently she was a rising third year in Ravenclaw named Luna who received the nickname from her housemates. While Luna was fond of the moniker and constantly signed off her letters with it, Rose thought it was a bit rude of the Ravenclaws to call her that. She was also fond of the nickname "Rosa" that Luna had given her. She found it amusing whenever one of her friends came up with a new nickname for her and couldn't wait to tease Cedric with another pet name that he couldn't call her.

By the time she had sent off her letters, Remus (who insisted that she and Harry called him that since he wasn't their Professor anymore) would come down from his room and put the kettle on. Rose would prepare breakfast while Remus drank his morning tea and read the Daily Prophet. He would often stop to tell her a quick summary of each article that he'd read.

Next, Harry would awake and come down to the kitchen. He would gladly accept the cup of coffee from his twin before helping Rose with the meal. The three would chat about a trivial topic while refusing Remus's offers to help them cook. Breakfast would start off by having Sirius roll out of bed. The thirty-four year old man would sit at the kitchen table, half asleep and shoveling eggs into his face, ignoring his teasing niece and nephew.

After breakfast, Harry, Sirius, and Rose would zoom around the backyard of the cottage on their broomsticks (Sirius had gotten a Nimbus as well) playing mini quidditch matches. Remus would spend this time half reading and half watching them. Once, they were done with flying, they would disperse throughout the houses and do their own things until lunch. After lunch, things would become interesting. Sometimes they'd apparate to different foreign countries and tour around until supper. Or they'd go down and visit the cinema down in the muggle town and watch the latest muggles films (they could only sit in the back because Sirius would constantly ask Harry and Rose questions like: "What's a computer?" "Who's Bill Clinton?" "There was a war in Vietnam? When? Where's Vietnam?"). Rose planned on getting Sirius a _muggle _world history book for Christmas. Or they'd go to different museums or sites in London (or the rest of the world because they're fucking wizards and magic is real and nothing is off limits to them. Yes, they can go to the Louvre Museum in Paris and then go to Japan for dinner and be back in time for the 9:00 pm showing of the Lion King in downtown Los Angeles and be in bed by eleven thirty because magic is real and muggles will forever live without the sweet satisfaction and pleasure that only magic could supply).

Basically, the household of Potter-Black-Lupin were having a wonderful time this summer.

But of course, _nothing gold can stay._

On the day of the full moon in early July, Rose woke up screaming. Intense pain was surging through her body and it felt like someone was hitting her with nineteen sledgehammers. Cramps were raking her insides and something was throbbing in her head. But the worst part was the amplification of her senses. The sound of birds chirping was intensified in her ears and she could faintly hear a car honking from five miles away. Her sense of smell also increased. The odor of the birch wood of in the bedframe, the floral detergent that Bubbles used in her clothing, and Gwaine's fur engulfed her nose.

Someone slammed open the door of her room, but if left like a gunshot went off. Whoever it was smelled like Hedwig's feathers, broomstick polish, and raspberries. '_Harry,' _a conscious part of her brain said, '_It's Harry.' _

"Rose!" Harry shouted, but in reality, he barely whispered it. His footsteps pounded against the floor as he headed towards her. A pair of lanky muscular arms wrapped around her. She melted into his embrace.

"It's alright, Rosie, it's alright," Harry tried to console her. Rose merely winced because his voice was too loud for her and started to hyperventilate. More footsteps banged against the ground as more bodies entered the room. Someone smelled like aftershave, firewhiskey, and dog hair. Sirius. The other body radiated traces of chocolate, books, and more dog—no wolf—hair. Remus.

"What the bloody hell?" Sirius exclaimed. Rose let out a scream of pain.

"Shh!" Remus hissed. He tiptoed towards Rose's bed and held up a finger to his lips. Sirius and Harry both exchanged looks of worry.

"Rose, listen to me very carefully," Remus said, his voice barely audible. Rose's face contorted into a grimace and her eyes screwed shut as she tried to concentrate. His voice wasn't too loud like everything else was.

"Now, tell me. What's wrong," he whispered again.

"Too… loud…head…hurts," she wheezed out. Remus nodded his head, and pulled out his wand. He casted a silence spell. Suddenly, the birds stopped chirping, the cars were no longer honking, and Sirius and Harry's footsteps disappeared.

"Is that better?" Remus breathed out. Rose nodded her head numbly, and tried to bury her face into her pillow. The smell of sweat and detergent stung her nose.

"Smells…too…much," she mumbled.

"I know, dear, but you have to concentrate," Remus instructed. He took a few steps away from her and continued to speak. "Take a deep breath and concentrate on pushing out the smells, alright." She nodded again and tried to control her breathing. She tried to focus and slowly the odors began to fade away. They were still there, but no longer attacking her nose like. She sought out the detergent smell and it returned. When she pushed it away, it returned to the background.

"Okay," she breathed. Slowly, she sat up. Pain continued to overcome her body, but she was used to it now. Her eyes were still shut, and she had her arms wrapped around herself. Harry was still standing by the end of her bed protectively. Sirius stood by the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"Okay, now I'm going to lift the silence charm and you'll have to focus again to block it out," Remus whispered again. "Are you ready?"

"Y-yes," Rose muttered. Remus lifted his wand and banished the charm. Rose groaned and clutched her head as the noise returned.

"Concentrate, Rose," Remus repeated. "Take a deep breath and push away the noise." Rose did as she was told, and the sounds melted away and became background noise. Her headache lessened as well.

"Can you open your eyes now?" Remus asked. Rose hesitated for a moment before opening her eyes slowly. She was blinded momentarily as the morning light attacked her irises. After a few seconds of blinking, the image of Remus crouching beside her manifested.

"Continue to breathe," he instructed. "Can you control you other senses?" She nodded her head.

"But my head still hurts," Rose breathed out.

"We'll get you some painkiller potions, alright?" Remus soothed. She nodded her head again.

"Bubble," Rose breathed out. The small creature popped into view.

"Yes, milady," the elf whispered. Bubbles already had a vial of a violet colored potion, and handed it to the red haired girl. Rose drank the entire potion in one shot and sighed when the pain in her head and torso lessened.

"Thank you," she told Remus and Bubbles.

"You sure you're fine, Rosie?" Harry asked. He moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arms around his sister.

"Yes, I'm fine," Rose smiled. "But what happened?"

"Tonight's the full moon," was Remus's response. This was enough of an answer for everyone.

Later that day, everyone was sitting down for lunch. The events of the morning still hung in their heads and the inevitable of the night loomed over them. However, they still wanted to either their day somewhat.

"I've bought a VHS player," Sirius said cheerfully. "From the store in town, and a bunch of VHS's. So we can watch movies without having to go to the cinema every time." Their small cottage resided thirty miles away from a small yet very modern muggle town. It was far enough that muggles couldn't see them flying around on their broomsticks, but close enough for the four to visit the town often.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Would it work? I haven't seen any electric outlets in the house."

"What are outlets?" Sirius asked. This caused the twins to laugh and Remus to roll his eyes.

"You're supposed to plug the player into an outlet so that it has electricity in order to work," Remus explained.

"And we don't have a television to see that movies on," Rose added.

"You need a television as well?" Sirius grumbled. "The shop clerk said that the VHS player plays the movies on its own."

"The television is implied," said Harry, who was holding back laughter.

"Muggles are so bloody complicated," Sirius pouted as he dug into his Shepard's pie.

"Anyway," said Rose as she changed the subject. "I was wondering if you guys could teach Harry and me how to duel."

Sirius spluttered. Remus nearly choked on his tea. Harry looked amused.

"What?" Sirius barked (Haha). "How to duel?"

"You're both too young to learn that sort of thing," Remus said after he composed himself.

"No, we're not!" protested Rose.

"Yeah, we're nearly fourteen," Harry added.

"So? Normal people don't learn how to duel until they're sixteen," Sirius said. His eyebrows were furrowed together and he was waving his fork at them authoritatively.

"We're not normal," Rose said.

"There isn't a reason for you two to learn how to fight," Remus said. "You-Know-Who is gone."

"If Voldemort's"- Sirius scrunched up his nose and Remus winced at the name—"is gone than why did I have to face him in my first year?" asked Harry.

"And why did I have to get rid of his memory, who opened up the Chamber of Secrets and possessed a first year girl, in our second?" asked Rose.

"Just because You-Know-Who-"Sirius started.

"Voldemort," Rose corrected stubbornly. More winces from the two adults. "His name is Voldemort."

"Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself," Harry recited as if he was quoting something.

"We've gone through more than most adult wizards," Rose disputed. "We deserve to learn how to defend ourselves."

"There isn't a need for it," Remus said. "The adults around you will protect you." Rose frowned.

"Where was an adult when we faced a troll in our first year?" argued Rose.

"Or when we faced a three headed dog?" added Harry.

"Or when we faced a Devil's Snare and an enchanted chessboard!?"

"Or when we had to fight with a basilisk?"

"What about the underage magic law?" Remus asked. "You can't use magic outside of Hogwarts until you're seventeen."

"I used magic in St. Mungo," Rose said. "And I didn't get any owls from the Ministry." Everyone looked shocked at that.

"What? Really?" Harry gapped. "But how?"

"Well, the Ministry can't detect underage magic if it used in a magical area or household," Sirius explained. "It works well to monitor muggleborns and they just expect magical parents to restrict their children. Most purebloods don't really follow that rule, though."

"Is this a magical household?" Harry asked.

"Technically," replied Sirius.

"So then we can duel here!" Harry exclaimed with a grin.

"Alright! Enough!" Sirius declared. He dropped his fork onto the table and sighed. "Fine, do what you want. But you have to convince Moony. _He's _the Defense Professor."

"Was," Remus corrected. "And I'm still not sure whether this is a good idea."

"Please, Remus," Rose begged. She had her hands beneath her chin and was pouting.

"Rose," Remus said warningly. Her bottom lip began to quiver.

"Pretty please, Moony," she whined.

"Rose," Remus repeated, but this time his voice was sounding beaten.

"Please," she asked again in a tiny, innocent voice. Actually tears began to brim her green eyes.

"Fine," Remus surrendered with a sigh. Rose jumped up to her feet, all tears and pouting gone instantly, and hugged the sandy haired man.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Rose squealed. "C'mon Harry! Let's go floo to Diagon Alley and get dueling books!" With that, the two children ran off to their rooms to get ready to go out again.

"Someone's whipped," Sirius teased.

"Shut up," Remus told his best friend.

Later that day, Remus stood pacing in the cellar. Sirius sat on the ground with one leg knew propped up and an arm slung above it. Harry stood by the cellar doorway and Rose stood beside him holding a large frothy goblet.

"Are you sure you brewed it correctly?" Remus asked. He was wringing his hands and his skin looked slightly grey.

"Yes," Rose responded. "Professor Snape taught me everything I know." Sirius snorted. Rose ignored him and handed the goblet to Remus. He scowled at the pungent scent of the elixir before drinking it all.

"Yeah, that tastes like the Wolfsbane," Remus grimaced.

"What does it taste like?" Harry asked.

"Vomit and cement," he replied. "Not a pleasant combination."

"You take care of him, alright," Rose told Sirius. He would be staying in the cellar as Lancelot/Padfoot to keep Moony company. The dark haired man gave her a wink and salute.

"Roger that, Captain," he said. With one last parting look, the Potter twins left the cellar. They went upstairs to the living room where a VHS player and bag of cassettes sat on the coffee table. They sat at the couch and pulled out some of the dueling books that they gotten earlier that day. After nearly an hour of reading, Harry finally spoke.

"Why did you want to learn how to duel?" Harry asked. Rose shrugged.

"Because I care about our survival," was her response.

"That's the second time you've mentioned our 'survival,'" Harry stated. "Why are you so concerned about that?"

"Honestly? I don't know," Rose said. Harry turned to look at his sister. Her green eyes were staring intensely at the VHS tapes in front of them. "I just- I just don't have a good feeling about our future. I feel like bad things are gonna start happening and we need to be safe. We need to be ready."

"Ready for what?" he asked. Rose didn't speak. Instead, she stood and approached the window. She silently watched the full moon, ignoring the stinging that erupted from the scars across her back.

"Ready to fight," she finally said. "You're the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry. The world expects you save them and continue to save them. There needs to be something for you to save them from."

"Do you- do you think Voldemort will come back?" Harry asked. He was already on his feet and approached his sister. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I don't know," she said. "But I feel like something's coming. Something bad." Silence fell upon them again and they continued to observe the silver orb as it stayed suspended in the night sky.

They would finally relent and make their way upstairs. This time, Rose crawled into Harry's bed and snuggled up against her brother. He slung a protective arm around his sister. He burrowed his face into her hair, enjoying the scents of berries, coffee, and cat hair that belonged uniquely to Rose Potter just as she enjoyed the scents of Hedwig's feathers, broomstick polish, and raspberries that belonged uniquely to Harry Potter.

…

**PLEASE REVIEW! TELL ME LOVELY THINGS AND COMMENT AND SUCH!**


	20. Tattoos and Empty Threats

**A/N: I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. This beast took me months to write. I have multiple different drafts of this chapter but I'm finally satisfied. Thank you for anyone who has continued to read this story and thank you to anyone knew how was started to read. I hope the length makes up for the delay. I will try my best to get out another chapter by the end August. Thank you and please enjoy!**

Chapter 20: Tattoos and Empty Threats

After the night of the full moon and a day for Remus to recover (and Rose who felt also exhausted), the twins began their dueling training. Remus started them off by having them memorize a long list of curses, hexes, jinxes, charms, and spells. Once they had memorize the verbal incantation ("Remember Harry, its Expelli- AR -mus not Epel-LI-armus." "Are you seriously trying to make a joke from our first year?") and the wand motions, they were allowed to actually practice the spells. Sirius had set up a row of wooden dummies for them to practice on out in the backyard, and Rose had removed all the Slytherin robes that Sirius had dressed the dummies in ("Not all Slytherin are evil, Sirius!" "Most are though!" "I don't care! Stopping stealing my house robes!").

Practicing the spells lasted for nearly three weeks. They had a long list to learn and Remus wouldn't let them move on until he was sure they had perfected each one. Although Rose and Harry groaned and grumbled, they secretly thanked Remus for his persistence to get the best out of them. By the end of the three weeks, the poor wooden dummies were sliced, scorched, mangled, beaten, and seared.

Now, you're probably wondering how two nearly fourteen year olds were able to cast a long list of spells that would take an average wizard nearly two years to learn. Even Remus and Sirius (who planned on only pacifying the twins because they didn't expect them to get the handle of the spells so quickly) were quite shocked when Rose and Harry were ready for _actually dueling. _Well, Rose and Harry were not average wizards. They were much greater than anyone would ever realize.

When they started to duel, Rose and Harry began with merely dueling each other while the adults watched. Remus and Sirius quickly found out that watching the twins duel was very amusing and very nerve-racking. While both teens seemed to have an affinity to fighting and had great instincts, they were also _extremely _aggressive and vicious which would leave Sirius and Remus holding onto each other and praying that their charges didn't kill each other.

"_Everte Statum!" _Rose shouted as she thrusted her wand at Harry. A gush of power surged out of her wand towards the dark haired boy. Harry, who was quick and agile from being a seeker, sidestepped the hex and shot his own at Rose.

"_Affligo_!"

"_Protego!" _ The striking curse bounced off Rose's shield just as Harry shot another curse.

"_Stupefy!" _Rose rolled out just in time to dodge the red stunner. Rolling on her back, she turned and yelled out four curses quickly.

"_Reducto! Incendio! Gelesco! Cervifors!" _

"_Protego!" _The magical shield was able to protect Harry from the blasting hex but was torn down by the blast of fire that followed it. This allowed Rose's third spell to hit him square in the chest. He swore because the third spell caused his feet to be glued to the ground and also because he couldn't dodge the next curse. Large white antlers began to sprout from Harry's head.

"Real funny, Rose," he grumbled as Rose laughed loudly. Her laughter quickly ended when Harry shot two stupefies and a disarming charm at her. By the time, Harry had unglued his feet (he didn't have the chance to remove the antlers) Rose was already firing spells off at him.

"_Castreo!" _Harry dodged the hex.

"_Lingaugeo!" _The spell hit Rose and caused her tongue to swell up in her mouth. She tried to cast the counter spell (which took a while since she couldn't speak properly) which gave Harry the opportunity to cast a stunner.

"_Stupefy!" _The red beam of light zoomed towards Rose.

"_Finite!" _Her tongue finally returned to its normal size, and she barely rolled out of the time to dodge the stunner. She pointed her wand at Harry just in time for him to do the same.

"_Expelliarmus!" _ They shouted at the same time. The identical red charm zapped both teens at the same time causing both of their wands to fall out of their hands and for them to tumble to the ground.

"This is the ninth time this happened," Remus remarked as he handed Rose her wand.

"_Finite," _Sirius said (after getting a good laugh), and the antlers disappeared from Harry's head.

"We're just too evenly matched," Rose said.

"Yeah, we already know what the other is going to do before we even do it," added Harry.

"Maybe we could start dueling with you guys?" Rose suggested as she fluttered her eyelashes and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"No," said Remus firmly.

"C'mon, Moony, they'll never learn if all their duels end in stalemates," Sirius interjected.

"Fine, then you duel with them," Remus responded.

"Fine!" Sirius huffed.

"Both of us? At the same time?" Rose and Harry spoke in unison. They turned and gave each other mischievous looks. "Let's do it right now." The two older men shuddered. It was terrifying whenever the twins spoke simultaneously. You knew they w

"I instantly regret this," Sirius deadpanned.

"Don't care," Remus shrugged. "You wanted this. You do it." The sandy haired man slumped down onto a lawn chair and gave Sirius another look which said _'You made your bed, now sleep in it_.'

That how Sirius Black found himself, holding his cedar wand, facing his late best friend's children. Ten yards away, Rose and Harry stood beside each other, both wearing matching wicked grins on their faces with green eyes glittering impishly.

"Bow," Remus instructed, who was acting as referee. The three bowed. Sirius felt something cold run down his spine. Why was he scared? He used to be an Auror for Merlin's sake! He was battling with the Order of Phoenix straight out of Hogwarts and fought against more Death Eaters than he could count! So, why were two rising fourth years giving them the creeps?

"Begin!" Remus announced. Instantly, the twins lunged in harmony.

"_Expluso!" _Rose yelled.

"_Laceus_!" Harry shouted.

Sirius jumped out of the way of Rose's curse. The spot where he once was, exploded and sprayed out dirt and rocks. He blanched at the fact that Rose had sent him such a deadly spell before quickly blocking Harry's. The magical ropes that had sprouted from Harry's wand quickly bounced off of Sirius's shield.

They continued to fight with the twins throwing continuous spells. The only advantage that Sirius had was the fact that he knew how to preform spells wordlessly which afforded him a bit more time since Rose and Harry had to verbalize their spells.

"_Bombarda!" _Sirius casted a '_Protego' _and shot off three different hexes at once. Then the twins did something extraordinary.

"_Protego Maximum!" _ Harry yelled, crouching slightly and creating a large shield that deflected all of Sirius's curses. "_Confringo! Reducto! Incendio!" _As Sirius threw his own shields up, he didn't noticing that Rose was using her brother as a springboard and had jumped onto Harry's back and propelled herself into the air.

"_Aguamenti! Lutulentus! Incarcerous!" _Rose casted in midair. Sirius was caught so off guard that he wasn't expecting the jet of water that bombarded him, nor did he expect the spell that turn the dirt beneath him into mud, causing the ex-convict to slip and fall onto the ground which made him vulnerable to the ropes that quickly bound him.

"Enough!" Remus exclaimed at this point. He waved his wand at his best friend and caused the ropes and mud to vanish.

"Fucking hell," Sirius grumbled. "You two are bloody mental!"

"We won!" Rose simply cheered as she high fived her brother.

"Sorry Sirius, we didn't mean to hurt you," Harry apologized as he helped his godfather up

"Much," added Rose.

"Enough from both of you," Remus scolded lightheartedly. "That's enough dueling for today. Go back inside and wash up for dinner." Without protest, the green eyed twins did as they were told.

"How are they so good at this?" asked Sirius once the Potters were gone.

"I don't have a clue," replied Remus. "But they're really good at working together."

"Absolutely," Sirius said. "I even feel like they were holding back."

"Yeah, so do I."

…

_Dear Luna,_

_I hope your summer has been well so far. I truly enjoyed the copy of the Quibbler that you sent me. I'm particularly fond of the article written about alter egos and their magical properties. It was a bit odd that it was written upside down, but I managed._

_It's been interesting in my household. I've recently come across a set of traits that are quite peculiar. I think it will make me better at quidditch. Oh, I forgot to ask, do you like quidditch? Its okay if you don't; my friend Hermione hates it but it's probably because she's not good at flying a broomstick (don't tell her I said that, she'll skin me)._

_Anyway, I can't wait to meet you in the flesh. Are you going to the World Cup in August? I've gotten tickets for my family and the Weasleys (don't tell Harry, it's supposed to be a birthday surprise), and I could get you a ticket as well if you aren't._

_Best Wishes,_

_Rose Potter_

_Hello Rosa Potter,_

_My summer has been lovely. Father and I have been exploring the forests around us in search for the crumple-horned snorkack. It's been a rather intriguing quest._

_The funny thing about alter egos is that they're not entirely another person in your person. It may be similar to having an animal side (but you already know that) or having a subconscious part of you. It's a rather interesting subject topic and I hope that Father adds an additional article about it in future issues. _

_I love to attend the World Cup with you, Rosa Potter. I'm quite fond of watching the sport although I must admit that my aptitude in flying is quite low. Thank you for your kindness. I also promise not to tell Harry anything. I do enjoy a good surprise._

_Warmly,_

_Looney Lovegood._

_Dear Luna,_

_I've attached the match ticket to this note. Can't wait to see you there!_

_If you're wondering, Harry, Sirius, Remus, and I are heading over to the Burrow to celebrate our birthday today. I will be announcing the tickets that I've bought. They're all in the top box of the stadium and I've heard that they're rather good seats. I've gotten enough tickets for the Weaselys, Hermione, my family, you, and my boyfriend Cedric and his dad. Draco, a good friend of mine, is already going since he's dad bought tickets. I must admit that the tickets were a bit pricey, but Griphook, the goblin in charge of all my vaults, assured me that it wouldn't affect my assets greatly. _

_I don't know why I'm telling you all of this, Luna, but I feel like I can trust you a lot. I don't know why. _

_Best,_

_Rose P._

_Dear Rosa Potter,_

_Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your gift greatly. I apologize for my tardiness. I've also attached a gift for Harry. Please give it to him._

_Thank you greatly for the ticket. I must find some way to repay you for your generosity. _

_I look forward to seeing you and your pets._

_Lovingly,_

_Looney Lovegood._

_Hey Luna!_

_Thanks so much for the gifts! I love the necklace! I think it goes lovely with the radish earrings. And Harry loved the journal you gifted him. We're flooing over to the Weaselys' tomorrow and we're going to sleep over. Hermione's coming as well so I'm really excited. _

_I can't wait to see you too! But I'm not bringing Gwaine and Arthur so you won't be able to see my pets._

_Love,_

_Rose._

_Dear Rosa Potter,_

_Silly Rosa. Of course you're bringing your pets! You said so yourself._

_Love, _

_Looney Lovegood._

…

_Well, fuck. _

This was the communal thought that the family unit of an ex-convict, a werewolf, the Boy-Who-Lived, and his twin sister as they stared up at the sky. In the sky hung the ominous apparition of a skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth, illuminated by green light. The screams of frightened wizards and witches filled the field that they were standing in.

Now, you're probably wondering what was going on. You see, nearly twelve hours ago everything was perfectly fine. Rose and Harry had spent the previous night with the Weaselys and Hermione, enjoying a lovely sleepover before starting the trek to the portkey where they met Cedric and Luna. Rose was ecstatic to see the two and enjoyed a quick kiss with Cedric before hugging Luna tightly. The entire group, which consisted of the Potter twins, five Weaselys, Looney Lovegood, and the two Diggory boys, arrived to the campsite of the Quidditch World Cup. Sirius and Remus (who had drove to the World Cup there because Sirius wanted to work on his driving skills) met them there.

It was bloody amazing. The Potter twins enjoyed two things: the people they loved and… QUIDDITCH! The top box truly had the best seats in the entire stadium. Lucius Malfoy was aghast at the sight of the Weasely clan as they all bustled into the box. Even the Minister of Magic was surprised to see them all. But they couldn't care less about what everyone else was thinking because they were all together and they were watching quidditch. Rose squished herself between Harry and Cedric with Draco sitting right behind her. Luna took the seat in front of her and would often turn around and say some vague expression to the redhead. No one really knew what to think of the blond girl, but everything she said seemed to delight Rose.

Then the match happened: Ireland versus Bulgaria. Ireland won, but Viktor Krum caught the snitch.

The following few hours were that of celebration as everyone returned to the campsite to party and drink. Even the Weaselys tent became an uproar of rowdy teenagers all drunk on the sugary (but non-alcoholic) beverage of butter beer. After Fred and George each grew two long beards in Ireland's colors of green and white, Ron threw up butter beer and chocolate frogs all over Ginny, Harry beat Draco (who snuck away from his father) at two rounds of exploding snap and one round of go fish, Hermione argued with Luna over the existence of snorklacks, and Rose snogged the living daylights out of Cedric, everyone was sent off to bed in their own respective tents.

Rose and Harry returned to the tent they shared with their respective godfathers. They helped Remus drag Sirius (who had drank his weight in fire whiskey and tequila) into bed before going to their cots.

And right when they placed their heads down to rest, all hell broke loose.

Shrieks of terror filled the campsite along with the sounds of hexes and curses being casted. Rose was the first to jump out of bed, followed by Remus who magicked all of their belongings into a charmed knapsack. Startled, Harry rolled out of bed and stuck his head outside of the tent's flaps. Outside, people were running around like lunatics. Figures dressed in dark cloaks and with silver masks ran around throwing hexes and curses at bystanders. Apparently, a Death Eater riot was enough to sober up Sirius since the man woke up and ran out of the tent with his wand drawn and spells a blazing. Remus, worried about the other man's wellbeing, followed after him.

Before Rose could stop him, Harry ran out too, throwing hexes at different Death Eaters.

"Merlin's ball sack," Rose groaned, and pulled out her own ebony wand. "This is what I get for living with a bunch of Gryffindors."

Fast forward to the present, the group of floor was now staring up at the dark symbol floating in the sky. The Aurors and Ministry of Magic had come through already and order everyone to evacuate. After a strange encounter with Barty Crouch and a house elf, they were on their way back to their car with their tent stuffed in the trunk.

"Alright, all of you in the car now," Sirius order as turned on the engine of the red convertible. The twins piled up into the back seat of the car while Remus took the passenger seat. The Weasleys had returned home through portkey and taken Hermione and Luna with them. Cedric side apparated home with his father as did Draco (who mysteriously could not find his father until after the riot).

Rose placed her head against Harry's shoulder and let her eyes closed. But she couldn't sleep because one thought continued to irk her: Professor Snape's peculiar tattoo.

Severus Snape was a secretive man. He rarely ever exposed himself physically or emotionally to anyone let alone a student. However, after three years of being having Rose Potter as his 'apprentice,' the two had generated a certain amount of intimacy and trust that neither of them had become aware of. It started off with simple things.

After their first few lessons during her first year, Rose had removed her outer robes in the humid dungeons. Now, her wardrobe consisted of muggle jeans and t-shirts during her lessons. Every now and then, Snape would address her as Rose instead of Miss Potter. Sometimes the man would let out a sarcastic remark or say a dark humored joke. At first, Rose had stifled her laughter in fear of disrespecting her instructor. Then she would only giggle or chuckle lightly every time Snape would call a student a dunderhead. Now, she laughed loudly whenever Snape would say anything snarky when grading an essay.

The two Slytherins had become comfortable with each other, used to the other's presence. It was actually nice, not having to be constantly guarded. Of course neither of them would even admit that they had allowed their relationship to evolve to this point. After all, Severus was a man of many secrets and a dark past. He couldn't allow any slip ups to occur around this young girl. Unfortunately for Snape, Rose was very observant. Whenever there was a lull in their lessons (they needed to wait for a potion to simmer or needed to stir it for a while), she would just stare at Snape.

He was a very interesting man. His alabaster skin looked smooth, tainted by dark purplish circles beneath his eyes, frown lines around his mouth, and creases at the end of his eyes. His eyes were dark, but held so much experience and knowledge. Rose wanted to know everything that he knew, wanted to crack open the mind of the brilliant Potion Master and absorb it all.

The first time Rose had seen a glimpse of the tattoo was in her second year. Professor Snape was reaching for a jarred ingredient on the top self with his left hand. The hem of his sleeve slid down revealing the grey outline of a creature's head. Rose stared intensively at the mark on his forearm, but it quickly disappeared as he put his arm down and tugged at his sleeve. There was something inciting about seeing a possible tattoo on your teacher's arm. It was a symbol of rebellion that did not quite match up with the professor.

The second time, Rose was had seen the tattoo was during her third year. She was leaning over her bubbling cauldron, inspecting the color of the solution when PLOP! Her wand slid from the bun in her hair and into her potion.

"Crap!" Rose had groaned as her wand sunk into the thick concoction. The potion was harmless so far, but she was hesitant to dip her hand into the thick dark liquid.

"Honestly, Miss Potter," Professor Snape chided as he rolled up his sleeve. "I expected more from you." But Rose wasn't listening. She was too focused on the sight of Snape's bare forearm. The tattoo took up his entire forearm. It seemed to be thin and long at the bottom before becoming large and round at the top. That was all Rose could see before he dunk his hand into the muddy potion and pulled out her wand.

The third and final time Rose had seen the tattoo was also during her third year. She had arrived early to a lesson, but instead of knocking and waiting for her professor to grant her entrance, she came in anyway. But for some reason, Snape had not noticed her come in. So she stood standing in the shadows by the doorway. Professor Snape sat silently at his desk. His sleeves were rolled up as he graded essays with red ink staining his hands and inching up his arms. This gave Rose a truly wonderful moment to examine the grey tattoo on his left form arm.

The bottom was a snake for sure. _For Slytherin, _Rose assumed. The top was more mysterious…It looked like a skull and was the snake coming out of its mouth? _What a wicked design, _she thought. When did he get the tattoo? Was he a teenager? Did his mum know about it? Did his mates know about it? Rose tried to imagine an adolescent Snape going behind his parents back to get an edgy tattoo, then showing off said tattoo later in his dormitory to all of his friends, and then regretting it later… Little did she know how right she actually was.

"Miss Potter!" Snape snapped. "I didn't hear you knock."

"Sorry, Professor," Rose said. Snape roughly pulled his sleeves down. "I must have forgotten."

For weeks, Rose doodled that design in her potions text book and her notebook. She was so fascinated by the image that her professor choose to brand his body with. A snake slithering out of a skull? How morbid! How punk! How cool!

But now, sitting in the back seat of the red car while they drove away from a pillaged campsite, that 'design' no longer seemed 'cool.' In fact, Rose was right down terrified. Why did _her _Potions Professor have a tattoo of the very symbol that hung in the arm after Voldemort's so called 'Death Eaters' rampage. She pulled away from her brother, who had fallen asleep, and leaned again the window.

"Everything alright, Rose?" Remus asked. He turned his body around to look at his young charge. It seemed that her dismay was more evident that she thought. Even Sirius peeked up at through the rear view mirror.

"Yeah," Rose mumbled. "That thing that was in the symbol, the skull with the snake coming out of its mouth, what was it?"

"It's the Dark Mark," Sirius explained. "It's the symbol of You-Know-Who. His Death Eaters put it up so that you know it was their handy work. They're also branded with it." Sirius gritted his teeth. The sight of that mark brought back dark memories of Lily and James' deaths. The same symbol had hung over the Potter's home after their death.

"Oh," came Rose's response. She chewed on her bottom lip in thought. Remus frowned. Something didn't seem right. Was Severus Snape a death eater? Was Ron Weasely actually right about something?

"Have you seen the mark before?" Remus asked cautiously, trying to gage Rose's reaction.

_Should I tell them? Tell them that Severus Snape has the bloody symbol on his forearm? _Rose thought. _Well, it is Sirius and Remus, and I should trust them, I love them…._

But another voice out ruled her own inner monologue:

_"You must learn to look after one another and take care of each other against the other three houses because you will soon learn that you can only rely on your fellow snakes, and no one else."_

The voice of Severus Snape from her first year filtered into her mind. _I'm a Slytherin, _Rose thought, _we take care of each other because no one else will._

With her mind decided, Rose looked up to Remus with an expressionless face.

"No," she lied smoothly. "I've never seen the Dark Mark before."

…

It took hours before they reached the Den. But the twins couldn't complain since this was the second time that Remus had to suffer through the 'road trip.' Apparently, Sirius thought that driving from Wales to the other end of the country was the best way to improve his driving.

"Psst, Rose," Harry hissed as they reached the second floor of the cottage.

"What's up?" Rose whispered. They stood across from each other by their bedroom doors. Harry placed a finger to his lips as Sirius and Remus came up the stairs.

"I can't believe that I already have a bleeding hangover!" Sirius groaned as he clutched his aching head.

"I can't believe I let you drive us back home half drunk," Remus scolded as he placed an icepack on the other man's head.

"Pfft, I'm the only one in this lot who knows how to drive so take that," the very hungover Sirius Black stuck out his tongue to the very irritated Remus Lupin.

"Goodnight, Rose, Harry," Remus said to the twins. "Tried to get some sleep."

"Yeah, g'night pups," Sirius grumbled.

"Goodnight," Harry and Rose chorused as they watched the two men enter their rooms. They waited a moment before Rose scurried towards Harry, and the two ducked into his room.

"So what's wrong?" Rose asked as she plopped down on his bed. His room was very much like her how but with a scheme of red, and had little snitches flying around on his wall paper. Harry turned on the small lap by his bed before sitting down on the bed with her.

Instantly, they curled up against each other. After growing up in a dark, scary cupboard, the twins had learned how to use their physical intimacy to soothe and console each other.

"What's wrong Harry?" Rose asked. She touched her brother's face, cupping his cheek in her small hand. His eyes looked nearly jade green in the dim lightning.

"My scar, "Harry explained. "It hurt tonight."

"What do you mean?" she asked. She ran her fingers through his dark fringe, revealing the infamous lightning bolt shaped scar. It was bright red.

"I don't know. After the riot happened, it just stung," Harry explain. Rose frowned as worry filled her body. She leaned forward and placed her lips on the red scar. For some strange reason, Rose's soft kiss had banished away the tingling sensation. Almost as if her love for him had driven away the pain.

"I'm sorry that it hurts, but I love you," Rose said. Harry placed a kiss on her cheek. The siblings embraced.

"Thank you," Harry said. "I love you too."

…

"Dress robes?!" Sirius exclaimed as he examined the parchment. A few days, after the whole World Cup fiasco, we find our lovely family of four gathered around the kitchen table enjoying a breakfast of toast, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs. Their yearly Hogwarts letters had just arrived and apparently, Sirius was extremely amused by the idea of having 'dress robes' on the school supply list.

"Why do we need dress robes?" Harry asked as he looked at the letter as well.

"Maybe Hogwarts will be hosting some sort of formal event?" Remus offered as he smeared jam on his toast.

"They might teach you ballroom dancing," Sirius pondered. "They did have that course when we went to school, but got rid of it a few years ago."

"Urgh, I hate dancing," Rose grumbled. "But I do like dress shopping."

"What a dilemma!" Harry snorted. "How will you ever survive?" Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

"Children, behave," Sirius chided in mock seriousness causing Remus to snort into his tea.

"Really? You're the one telling them to behave?" Remus rebuked at the other man.

"Of course, I'm serious this time." This caused the two teenagers to explode in laughter at the awful pun.

"Can we go out to Diagon Alley today?" Rose asked.

"Yes, but we'll have to accompany you," Remus said.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"After what happened at the World Cup, it's better to be safe than sorry," Remus explained.

"We're not children," Rose whined. "We can take care of ourselves."

"C'mon, let some old men dote on you children," Sirius said goodheartedly. Remus groaned at the wording of his statement and Rose giggled.

"That sounded creepy, Sirius," Harry explained to his godfather.

"What? Nonsense!" Sirius remarked. "Now c'mon, let's go before Diagon Alley gets too crowded."

A few hours later, Harry, Remus and Sirius found themselves sitting on the plush loveseats of a muggle clothing store. After shopping in Diagon Alley and retrieving everything they needed for the school year, they had headed to Madame Malkin's robe shop. Harry had quickly found a dress robe (a classic black and white tuxedo with accompanying black robes). On the other hand, Rose had decided that the Wizarding shop had nothing to offer her, and had dragged her male companions off to muggle London and into a large dress shop specializing in Proms and Weddings.

"What do you think of this one?" Rose asked as she came out in the fifth dress. This one was lavender with ruffled sleeves and a mermaid bottom.

"I can't tell the bloody difference, Rose," Sirius grumbled and continued to drink the champagne that the shop clerk had provided them. Apparently if you told them you were shopping for a wedding, they popped out the bubbly.

"You look fine either way," Remus said. What was an old werewolf who wore shabby robes supposed to know about fashion?

"It's nice," Harry offered. Rose huffed out a breath.

"You know, this is training for you lot when I decide to get married," she stated, waiting for a reaction.

"Married?" Sirius scoffed. "You're not getting married until you're fifty, little prongslette."

"You do know she has a boyfriend, right?" Harry asked the pair.

"A boyfriend? Who?" Sirius asked in outrage.

"Cedric Diggory," Remus informed. "The tall lad that sat next to her during the World Cup."

"Him? But he's ancient!" Sirius wailed.

"He's sixteen!" Rose retorted.

"He's gonna be seventeen in September," Harry supplied cheekily.

"Oi! Not helping," Rose glared at her brother.

"Besides, marriage is far away," Remus assured his panicking best friend. He shot his goddaughter a worried look. "Right, Rose?"

"Of course," Rose smiled at the sandy haired man. "And when I do get married I want you to walk me down the aisle." Remus's jaw slackened, and his eyes grew wide.

"Really?"

"Yeah! You're my godfather and I love you," Rose said. "Of course, Professor Snape will be on my other arm also escorting me."

Sirius had decided a second before to take a large gulp of champagne which was quickly spewed out after hearing Rose's comment. Poor Harry was soaked.

"SNAPE! WHAT!" Sirius roared. Rose rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, duh! He's like a father to me!" Rose said as if it was obvious. Sirius looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Like a father to her! Poor James is rolling in his grave right now!" Sirius wailed. He placed his hands together in a prayer and looked up at the ceiling. "Forgive me Prongs! I came too late to save her! Snivellus tainted her!"

"Excuse me Sirs and Madame, if you continue to make such a ruckus, I will have to ask you to leave," the shop clerk warned as she scolded the group.

"Harry?" Rose said as she gestured her head towards the shop clerk. On cue, Harry, who still had a shirt stained in champagne and Padfoot spit, pulled out a stack of bills and handed it to the shop clerk. After receiving the bribe, the woman smiled up at them.

"Stay as long as you'd like," she said and promptly left.

"I almost forgot about that trick," Harry remarked.

"It works every time," Rose said.

"You two are terrible," Remus said bemused. Sirius was still praying for James's forgiveness.

…

Days later, and tearful goodbyes were being shared on Platform 9 ¾ . Despite, the Death Eater riot, the small family had actually had such a lovely summer. For the first time in years, all four of them were together and in a loving and somewhat stable household. It was a welcome change for Harry and Rose who had only known the cruelty of their relatives. For Sirius, it felt a constant high after twelve years in Azkaban. Remus was just happy to be with people he loved and who loved him, and had missed spending the full moons with his friend.

"Remember to write," Sirius said as he hugged Harry tightly.

"Of course, mum," Harry mocked, but hugged him regardless.

"I'm serious," said Sirius, no pun implied. "If you don't I'll send you a howler."

"I'm gonna miss you," Rose grumbled as she held on tightly to Remus. The sandy haired man stroked her hair lovingly. He too would miss her greatly, and the thought of being away from his goddaughter after just being united stung.

"You'll be back by Christmas," Remus assured the girl. Rose pouted and hopped on her tippy toes to place a kiss on his scared cheek.

"I'll send you your potion every month," Rose promised him. "I'll have Bubbles deliver it so that nothing happens to it."

"Remember to take a bit yourself," Remus instructed her. They had only spent two full moons with each other, but quickly learned that Rose's irritability and aches were soothed by the Wolfsbane potion. It did not to lower her craving for raw meat however.

"On to the train, you lot!" Sirius called out. The twins quickly stumbled into the train with their trunks and animal cages. They stuck their heads out of the window to wave just as the train started to move. At that moment, Remus had a thought.

"Oh merlin! Did you two ever finish your homework!" he called out. But it was too late and the train was gone, leaving a worried Remus with a chuckling Sirius.

On the train, the twins had quickly an empty compartment. Just as they had settled in and tucked their trunks away, the door had swung open. As if my magic, all of their friends (which included two gingers, one bushy haired girl, two blond Slytherins, and a dreamy eyed Ravenclaw) had somehow found them.

"Oi, Harry how have you been?" came Ron's loud voice.

"You know me, mate, just trying to survive," said Harry as the ginger clapped him on the shoulder.

"Have you two finished your homework yet?" Hermione asked without looking up from her book.

"Yes, mum," Rose droned. She tugged the bushy haired girl into a hug.

"Rose! Don't call me mum," Snapped Hermione, but wrapped her arms tightly around Rose before hugging Harry as well.

"Is that a snake? When did you get a snake Rose?" asked Ginny who had just seen the reptile hanging lazily from her neck.

"Like a year ago, c'mon Ginny catch up," came Rose's reply.

"_What's that red thing?" _Arthur asked in alarm as he barred his fangs at Ginny. This wasn't that threatening since the small reptile was barely thicker than a pencil.

"Snakes increase fertility," Luna added, stroking the Arthur's little head.

"No they don't Luna." Hermione looked up from his book to shoot the blond girl a warning look.

"Yes, they do Hermione. That snake will help Rose get pregnant in the future."

"Aye, that's Cedric's job isn't!" Ginny winked and elbowed Rose in the side.

"Ginny!" Ron roared. "You're too young to say stuff like that!"

"Urgh, now that image is in my head," Draco groaned. The last thing he wanted to think about was Cedric -freaking perfect boy – Diggory pawing at Rose's body.

"What's wrong Malfoy? Don't like thinking about sex?" Ginny taunted the older boy.

"Shup up Weasely!"

"Wait! Are you guys talking about sex?!" Daphne asked when she overheard the conversation.

"You're a bit late to the party, aren't you Daphne?" Harry laughed.

"Oh, sod off Potter!"

Oh, what a joy it is to have friends!

…

Somewhere far away, hidden on the outskirts of an old English township was an old, creaky manor. This particular estate was once owned by the wealthy Riddles: Thomas, Mary, and their handsome son, Tom. The small family had met their demise one dreary December night in 1943 by their own blood. A tall, slender young man with the same features and name as the son Tom, had raised a wooden stick at them and ended their lives.

Now, that same young man, or at least the mutilated form that his fragmented soul currently embodied, sat in front of a roaring fire in that same house. A large glittering snake slithered around the grand armchair while a bulbous man with rat-like eyes cowered in the corner. By the door, a tall man with straw blond hair stood. He wore a too large trench coat and a strange blue eye that twirled in its fake socket. By his feet was a large trunk. It shook. The man waited, staring at the back of the armchair.

"Are you prepared?" asked the ugly creature sitting in the armchair. All that was seen was a deformed hand that lifted up.

"Yes, my lord," the man said. He took a swig from a metal flask. Suddenly his skin began to bubble and rearrange. This continued until a different man stood at the doorway.

"Do not fail me," the small creature hissed out.

"I will not, my lord." He bowed deeply before leaving the room with the trunk. He walked until he exited the manor. With a CRACK! And he was gone.

…

_What a strange looking man, _Rose mused as she twirled her spoon in her pudding. Her current subject of interest was this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. The sorting had gone off without a hitch, followed by the Headmaster's speech which included the introduction of Professor Moody.

"How long do you think he'll last?" Draco asked her. It was the time of day when Draco Malfoy truly lived up to his name sake. He currently embodied a perfect combination of arrogance and indifference, the signature Malfoy look. If you asked Rose, she'd say he just cranky from being too tired.

"Hopefully not long," Rose replied. "He looks horrid." Of course, no one thought much of this comment since Rose always managed to find fault with their new DADA teachers during the opening feast.

"Reckon he'll actually teach us something like Lupin or flounder around like Lockhart and Quirrell?" Daphne pondered.

"Pray for the former," said Rose. Of course no one would ever be as good as her beloved godfather. Her eyes floated to the faculty's table again. She quickly found Snape's line of vision and shot him a smile. Her favorite professor merrily nodded to show his acknowledgment.

"Heard he was the best auror of his time before he went insane," Draco added. He recalled multiple Ministry raids led by Moody into the Malfoy Manor during his early childhood.

"Attention students!" Dumbledore announced. The bearded wizard stood, causing the remaining food to disappear from the four tables. Everyone in the hall turned their attention to their headmaster.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched.

He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What!" Harry and Rose exclaimed loudly at the same time. Both twins gave each other equal looks of horror from across their house tables. This interruption caused Dumbledore to chuckle.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him. "We are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." Several gasps erupted from around the Great Hall.

"Well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities — until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age — that is to say, seventeen years or older — will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" — Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious — "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted sup- port to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"*

"Did you hear what he said about a _death toll?" _Rose hissed as she, Draco, and Daphne headed to the Slytherin Common Room with the rest of their housemates.

"It's crazy!" Daphne agreed. "My grandfather told me about it. The tournament took place when he was at Hogwarts but he never got picked."

"Cedric's turning seventeen by the end of September," Rose added. "I really hope he doesn't get picked."

"Yes, how unfortunate that would be," Draco said curtly, imagining a world without a certain grey eyed Hufflepuff. "Besides, the Hogwarts's champion would never be a Hufflepuff!"

…

Classes began the next day as usual. Everyone received their schedules during breakfast. And the week began seamlessly it appeared with only chatter of the Triwizard Tournament filling the corridors.

"Hey Rose!" Cedric ran to catch up with his redheaded girlfriend. Rose stopped in her tracks and turned to see the tall boy. She had just finished her first class, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and was on her way with Draco and Daphne to DADA with the infamous Mad-Eye Moody.

"You guys can go ahead without me," Rose told her companions. Draco rolled his eyes and Daphne made kissy faces at her. But both Slytherins continued on.

"What's up?" asked Rose. Cedric smiled at her, and placed a kiss on her lips. He looked so cute with his brown fringe hanging in front of his eyes.

"So you know how my birthday's on the 29th right?" Cedric said. Her smile began to droop. She knew where this was going.

"Yeah," Rose muttered. "We were planning on having a picnic, weren't we?"

"Of course, but I wanted to know what you thought about me signing up for the Triwizard Tournament?"

And there it was. The one thing that she didn't want Cedric to do. Sometimes she wondered if she was just cursed to love people who ran head first into trouble.

"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm just signing my name up, you know?" Cedric said. "There's no guarantee that I'll even get it, love." Rose tried to smile again. A part of her didn't believe that. Cedric was top of his class in nearly every subject, a prefect, and the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain. If anything, he was the most qualified candidate of his year. Hopefully there was a seventh year better than him.

"Okay, sure, whatever makes you happy," Rose replied. She had to be a good supportive girlfriend right? Cedric grinned madly and kissed her again.

"Thank you! I want you to be there when I submit my name okay?" he said.

"Sure, Cedric," Rose surrendered. _At least Harry cannot submit his name to the Triwizard Tournament. _"I need to get to class. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Of course, love!" They separated ways. As soon as she passed around a corner, Rose broke into a sprint. She was so late to her DADA class.

"Took ya long enough, Potter," Professor Moody growled as Rose entered the room. She tried to look sorry and took the only empty seat at the front of the classroom. She noticed that Harry was also not here yet.

"Sorry Professor!" Harry proclaimed as he came running into the room.

"Just get in your seat, Potter," Moody yelled, causing Harry to jump slightly before sitting next to Rose.

"You can put those away," Moody added, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them." He began reading to the roster which made Rose frown. So she wasn't that late if he hadn't done roll call yet.

"I've reviewed the letter that Professor Lupin, and it appears that you have pretty much covered tackling dark creatures. But you're very behind dealing with dark curses. This year, my job will be to teach you lot what wizards are capable of doing to you."

A murmur erupted through the class. Harry and Rose gave each other matching looks. After a summer of training from both Sirius and Remus, the twins felt assured that they were capable to administering and fighting most curses and spells.

"Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter curses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful."

"So . . . do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Several hands went up in the air. Interestingly, neither Potters raised their hands. This was something they did not know. Moody pointed to Ron.

"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one. . . . Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."

Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered:

"_Imperio_!"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing — everyone except Moody. "Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died away almost instantly. "Total control," said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats . . ."

Rose felt a chill run up her spine. The thought of someone taking full control over her body made her sick. She was reminded of Tom Riddle possession of Ginny a few years ago. What a horrible thing it must be to watch someone else puppet your body.

"Anyone know any other illegal curses?" Moody asked. More hands went up. He pointed at Neville.

"There's one — the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice. Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes.

"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again.

"Yes," replied Neville. Moody scooped out another spider from a jar and enlarged it. He pointed his wand at the thing and said:

"_Crucio" _

The spider began to wail and flinch violently. Rose watched with morbid curiosity at the pained spider. Unknown to her, it would only be two years' time before she too would be performing the same curse. However, her victims would not be as innocent as the spider.

"Stop it!" Hermione said shrilly. "It's bothering him!" The him she was referring to was Neville who was shaking horribly as he watched the tortured spider. Moody canceled the curse and shrunk the spider again. He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse. . . . That one was very popular once too.

"Right . . . anyone know any others?"

More hands were raised. However this time, Rose nervously raised her hand.

"Potter," Moody called on her.

"The killing curse," Rose said. She wasn't looking at Moody anymore. Her vision was focused on the last spider in its jar, awaiting its demise.

"The incantation?" Moody asked.

_"Avada Kedavra," _Rose answered. Beside her, Harry shook involuntarily at the words. Moody pulled out the final spider and raised his wand.

_"Avada Kedavra," _he repeated. Several people gasped as a green spark hit the spider, ending his life. That same green light that was a constant player in Harry and Rose's nightmares. The same green light that they associated with their mother's screams. The same green light that took away their parents' lives. The same green light that they would soon see again.

…

Weeks passed since their first lesson with Moody. The chosen students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had arrived, reminding everyone of the awaiting Triwizard Tournament. During their arrival, Dumbledore had introduced the Goblet of Fire which would be choosing the champions.

Currently, Rose was sitting in the Dungeons, more specifically in Snape's potion labs. They were continuing her studies since she was scheduled to take her potion NEWTS by the end of her fifth year. However, as Rose stirred a large cauldron of her latest potion assignment, she couldn't help but allow her mind to drift off. Many things were worrying her at the moment.

Cedric's birthday had been last week. Although she was happy for him becoming seventeen, she dreaded what was to come. Her boyfriend had planned on submitting his name to the Goblet of Fire tomorrow after lunch. He wanted Rose there, so she would be there.

Also, she had just received a letter from Sirius. Yesterday had been the full moon. Rose already knew since her scars always burned twenty four hours before and after the full moon. During the night she had taken a tablespoon of Wolfsbane, and had snuck out to the kitchen and devoured four raw steaks. She had also sent the Wolfsbane potion to Remus. However, according to Sirius, Remus had a terrible transformation the night before. While the potion lessened the control that the wolf had on his body during the night, it did nothing to diminish the excruciating pain of the transformation.

_He's sadder without you here, love, _Sirius had written. _I think that's also taking a toll on him. He's so used to you and Harry being there for him, but now that you're gone he feels like something's missing. Not that it's your fault or his, I feel the same way. But you know how Remus is. He can be as stubborn as the rest of us sometimes, and wouldn't bare to tell you this. _

Rose wished that she could do something to help her godfather. If only the Wolfsbane potion was better. If only it could stop the pain from the transformation. She had laid sleepless the night before, worrying about the werewolf, wanting so badly to wrap her arms around him and heal his wounds like she had done after every full moon in the summer.

Rose wasn't the only one accustomed to sleepless nights. Harry's scar was hurting more and more. He kept getting strange nightmares as well of disembodied voices speaking and of a large snake. He had tried a dreamless sleep potions but the nightmares still came. The only thing that prevented his scar from burning was Rose. Every time she kissed his scar, the pain would go away. But she couldn't just sneak into the Gryffindor tower every night just to comfort him (and trust me she already had done that three nights in a row).

There must be a solution to her brother's ailment. So naturally she took a leaf from Hermione's book and headed to the library. She searched around for some sort of remedy to nightmares caused by facial scars. Funny enough, no one had ever wrote a book on such a topic so she widened her search. She did find something interesting though. One of the books briefly mentioned the use of Occlumency to strength the mind against evil spirits that planted nightmares and evil thoughts. However her search was stunted since all books pertaining to Occlumency were in hidden away in the restricted section. Without a note from a teacher or her brother's invisibility cloak, she was stuck.

Basically, Rose was feeling helpless. She had a trouble seeking boyfriend, a pained godfather, and a nightmare infested brother. Oh, and she had just dropped the wrong ingredient into her potion.

"Miss Potter!" Professor Snape scolded her. He flicked his wand and vanished the ruined potion from her cauldron before it began to bubble over. It was upsetting since she had been working on the NEWT level potion for the past two hours. All that hard work down the drain.

"What has gotten into you?" Snape asked as he examined his prized student. "You're usually more focused."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Rose huffed. "I've just been distracted lately."

"Well, stop it," Snape instructed as a frown spread on his face. "It will do you no good if you keep ruining your work." Rose sighed again. She was just so tired from lack of sleep and worry. Snape's expression softened slightly. Her exhaustion was evident. He looked at the clock. 9 PM. It would do the girl no good if he kept her up any longer to redo the potion.

"Have you completed your assignments for tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded her head and yawned. "Then we'll get more ingredients from storage and you can come back tomorrow morning before class to redo the potion." His words were definite and for that Rose was grateful. She really did want to sleep.

"Thank you, sir," she smiled at him. Together the two of them left the potion lab to go to the ingredient stock room. Snape kept a protected hand on her shoulder. The corridors were dark and he didn't want her to trip in her tiredness. That small gesture was gratefully noticed by Rose.

_He can be so kind sometimes, _Rose thought. _But only in the darkness when he knows no one is watching. _She looked up at Snape again. His sallow skin was a stark contrast against the darkened corridors. _What's a man like him doing with the Dark Mark anyway? I mean, he is a Slytherin, but not all Slytherins are bad. _She looked at his arm covered by his robe's sleeve. Of course she would never expose him. She wanted to save that bit of information until she could figure out a way to use it to her advantage. Then an idea popped in her head. _Maybe, just maybe… _she thought.

They reached the stock room. Snape unlocked the doorway and they entered the room. It was narrow yet long with walls covered in high selves and a step ladder. Every self was stocked with different potion ingredients: some jarred, some in baskets, and some placed carefully on the self. Rose still had vivid memories of organizing the entire stock room back in May.

They didn't speak as they separated to get their ingredients. Rose went in search of boomslang skin while Snape deftly climbed the ladder.

"We're running low on boomslang skin, Professor," Rose informed him.

"And fluxweed," Snape added with a grimace. "The Weasely twins are most likely sneaking into the stock room. I'll readjust the locking wards." More silence occurred between the two of them. It was normal. They worked well together and rarely had to communicate. But Rose was about to activate her grand plan that she had thought of five minutes ago.

"Professor?" Rose asked meekly.

"Hm?" he grunts, barely listening. He was examining a label on one of the jars.

"When did you get your tattoo? You know the one of your left forearm?"

The jar slipped from Snape's fingers and shattered on the ground.

"What?" said Snape sharply as he turned to look at Rose. She looked up at him with a mischievous grin and dark eyes. At that moment, she looked so much like James Potter. Severus was immediately transported back to his school years with his bully. James Potter would give him the same dark look before hexing him or hanging upside by his ankles. For some strange reason, Severus felt betrayed by Rose and her likeness to her late father.

"Well, I was thinking about getting a tattoo on my forearm of a lily. You know, to kind of honor my mum. But I wanted to ask you about it first. You have that funny tattoo on your arm don't you? You know, the one of the snake coming out of the skull? Bit depressing if you ask me. Funny enough, I saw that same design during the summer. You heard what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't you Professor? Remus told me that's the symbol was the Dark Mark and only Lord Voldemort's followers had it. So tell me, why is that you have that tattoo professor?"

The silence was stifling in the room. Snape gripped the railing of the ladder tightly. His face was impassive, but Rose could see a flurry of emotions in his dark eyes. A lopsided grin spread across of his face. Snape frowned deeply. He felt like a fool for forgetting who this child actually was.

"But of course, it's quite easy to buy my silence, Professor."

Fury filled Snape's being. He gracefully hopped of the ladder and stomped towards the short girl.

"Are you trying to blackmail me you insipid little brat?" he spat out in an acerbic tone. The brat had the absurdity to smile wider. She looked up at him and let out an impish laugh.

"Why, of course I am, Professor," she said. And then her face transformed once more. Gone was the look of mischievous and of James Potter. Now, she stared up at him with an expression of cunning, of superiority, one that was extremely similar to what he often sported.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, foolish girl," Snape warned, trying to scare her.

"I know that you're no threat to me, because if you truly wanted to hurt me, you would have done that three years ago," she said. "I know that Dumbledore would never have hired you if he didn't know what side you were on. What I do know is that there is a world of people who would do anything for the Boy-Who-Lived and his twin sister. I know that if I run out crying that my potion teacher is a mean ol' Death Eater then people would listen. And I know that my godfathers barely need an excuse to tear you apart."

"Using your mutts as threats? They don't scare me," Snape told her. She still didn't looked phased. She expected him to say that.

"Oh, but Professor, I do care about you," Rose continued. "I love you and trust you. I would be more than willingly to help you, but I'm afraid that I don't come cheap."

Now, the showdown began. The two Slytherins stood opposite each other with matching glares.

"What do you want then?" Snape barked out. She didn't jump like most would have. She just kept grinning.

"I want you to teach me how to engineer and create my own potions," Rose said. _So I can improve the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. _

"That's it? You're blackmailing me for extra lessons?" he asked. But that brat was still smiling like a lunatic. There was more.

"And I want Occlumency lessons," she added. _So that I can teach Harry and stop his nightmares._

"What? Why would you need to know Occlumency?" Snape snapped.

"Because I want to!" she said stubbornly. "Why? Or do you know how to?" She had already won. She knew it.

"Fine," Snape growled. "But if you're late for even a single lesson, they'll end, understood?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Rose cheered. And then the brat had the audacity to hug him after she was done threatening and blackmailing him.

"Oh, and we're out knotgrass, Professor."

"Just go to bed, Potter."

"Goodnight Professor!" And just like that, she was gone. Snape sunk down to the floor and brought his legs close to his body. _That damn girl is going to be the death of me one of these day, _he decided. He pulled down his sleeve to examine the blasted mark. He frowned as he looked at it. It had darkened in color.

…

"It's not far that Diggory gets to put his name in and we can't! Right Rose?" Fred whined. He and George stood beside Rose in the Entrance Hall were the Goblet of Fire was stationed. Both boys sported long grey beards from another failed attempt of trying to cross Dumbledore's age restriction line.

"Yep, tragic," Rose replied. Her arms were crossed as she watched Cedric neatly write his name on a slip of parchment.

"Reckon he won't even get it though, being a Hufflepuff and all," George added.

"You never know," Rose said to the twins, leaving a huff of pride well up for her boyfriend. "Some great wizards have come out of Hufflepuff." Fred and George laughed as if she had just said a joke.

"I did it!" Cedric announced as he returned to Rose. His cheeks were flushed with excitement. "Did you see me?"

"Of course, love, I'm so proud," Rose replied and hugged him. Despite the three year age difference, the two were actually well suited for each other. Rose was outgoing while Cedric was more introverted, but the more comfortable he got with a person the more excitable he became. Both barely fought or bickered, and when they did it was often jokingly and over quickly. If you were looking for the couple, they would most likely be under a weeping willow by the Great Lake with Cedric laying his head blissfully on Rose's lap while she read softly to him from her potion books.

"You know, I love you so much," Cedric reminded her. Rose smiled brightly.

"Of course I know, you idiot," Rose joked. They held hands and headed towards their spot outside. They wanted to take advance of the good weather while it lasted.

"Is Harry still having his nightmares?" Cedric asked her. He wrapped his black and yellow scarf around Rose's neck. Although the sun was out, it was still a windy day, and Rose always forgot her own scarf.

"Yeah, but I think I've found a solution for him," she said. She loved his scarf; it always smelled so much like him.

"Well, that's good," Cedric said. "Oh, and I was thinking. Since the Quiddtich cup is canceled this year, why don't some of us come together on the weekend and practice with each other. You know, like all the houses together so that we don't get rusty for next year."

"That's a great idea," said Rose. "I'll tell Harry and Draco about it." They found their spot under the tree. Cedric, always the gentlemen, took off his Hufflepuff robes and placed it on the ground for them. He also cast a few warming charms. The pair settled down.

"I'll tell Cho Chang about as well," he added. "It would be fun, training with each other without the whole house rivalry getting in the way." Rose laughed.

"But Cedric, it's the rivalry that makes it so much fun!"

…

A few weeks later, a figure stood in the empty Entrance Hall. It was late. No prefects or professors were patrolling the halls at this time of night. Even Filch and Mrs. Norris had called it a night and were fast asleep.

The figure resembled a teacher, but inside he was someone else. With his pockets heavy with stolen potion ingredients, he limped towards the Goblet of Fire. The mysterious artifact glimmered silently in the darkness as its flames gave off a bright blue light. The strange man crossed the age restriction line easily. He pulled out his wand and a packet of powder. He poured the white dust on the ground around the goblet and used his wand to trance intricate runes into the powder.

"_Irrumabo stercore_," the man casted. The runes glowed red and the flames in the Goblet of Fire turned the same color. The man placed a slip of parchment into the goblet. The flames grew higher as it accepted the name.

Satisfied, the man vanished the powder away with his wand. He casted a few more spells to remove any traces of himself from the vicinity before returning to his private quarters. Oh what fun.

…

The Great Hall was filled with excited students from the three European wizarding schools. Today was the big day. The champions would be announced tonight. A few new faces joined them. Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman sat at the faculty table as representatives from the Ministry of Magic. The Goblet of Fire now stood at the front of the Great Hall beside the faculty's table. Students from Durmstrang sat with the Slytherins while the Beauxbatons students sat with the Ravenclaws.

Cedric Diggory was anxious. He sat at the Hufflepuff table and despite his mates reassuring comments, he couldn't help but worry. He looked over to the Slytherin table and saw Rose. His lovely girlfriend sat beside Malfoy. She caught his gaze and shot his a sly wink. He felt heat rush to his cheeks. Man, he was a lucky guy. She really was amazing, smart and beautiful. Albeit, she was often stubborn and a bit brash and had quite a crude mouth, but he love her and all of her flaws. That's why he wanted to be the Hogwarts Champion. She deserved a man that was worth being proud of, not some silly Hufflepuff who was okay at Quidditch. He wanted to show the world that he was good enough to be at the arm of Rose Potter.

Viktor Krum did not like the green table. The children that sat beside him were either too uptight or to willingly to please him. Neither traits were admirable to him. He valued those who were strong and sturdy and respected themselves. Like himself. He knew he was going to be the champion for Durmstrang. Not out of arrogance, but because he knew himself.

Fleur Delacour hid her emotions well. She was patient, and knew better than to allow worry to overpower her lovely face. She allowed the Ravenclaw boys to fawn over her like a bunch of imbeciles. She smiled and let out polite giggles every so often. But she wanted it bad. Oh so bad. She was the Head Girl equivalent at Beauxbatons after all. She was intelligent and top of all of her classes. She was more than a beautiful face. She was quick and skilled dueler. And she deserved this.

Harry Potter was blissfully oblivious. He laughed and ate with his friends, painfully unaware of what was to come. Despite the tournament's presence, he had a feeling that this year was going to be different. He was going to focus on his studies and his friend. For the first time the attention would not be on him. Everyone would be too busy with the three champions that they wouldn't worry about the Boy- Who- Lived… right?

Finally, all the food vanished and Dumbledore stood. Madame Maxime and Headmaster Karkaroff joined him. The flames of the Goblet of Fire flickered excitedly.

"I will now pull out the names chosen by the Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore announced. Tension filled the Great Hall as the goblet flickered again. This time a slip of parchment flew from it and landed in the headmaster's awaiting hand.

"From Durmstrang, the champion is Viktor Krum!" Roars of applauds filled the hall. Krum stood and gave a short wave, his face impassive. He stomped towards Dumbledore and shook the man's hand before following a proud Karkaroff to the trophy room.

"From Beauxbatons, we have Fleur Delacour!" More cheers as the lovely blonde girl gracefully left the blue table. She curtsied before Dumbledore and followed Madame Maxime to the trophy room.

"And finally, our Hogwarts champion is," Dumbledore paused dramatically as the entire student body waited anxiously. "Cedric Diggory!"

_Shit, _Rose thought. She placed her hands in her face and felt dread fill her gut. _Merlin, please don't die. _

The entire student body exploded in applause, but none were louder than the Hufflepuff table. Cedric Diggory! The Hogwarts champion!

The giddy boy quickly ran up to Dumbledore and eagerly shook the headmaster's hand. He turned one last time to face the Great Hall, his eyes scanning the green table. He found Rose with her face in her hands.

_Please look up, _Cedric thought as Professor Sprout began to move towards him. As if by magic, she finally did and looked right at him. Seeing his eager face and awaiting eyes, Rose relented. She stood up and clapped loudly for him with a broad smile.

Satisfied, Cedric followed his head of house to the trophy room. Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman followed after him.

"Well, now that that is done," Dumbledore said when the hall finally quieted down. "It's time for you all to head to bed-

But he was quickly cut off. The Goblet of Fire began to flicker again. Everyone gasped as a _fourth _slip of parchment flew out of the cup. Dumbledore grabbed the flying piece of paper and unfolded it. For the first time, the students saw a look of shock spread across their headmaster's face.

"Harry Potter."

Dumbledore barely whispered the name, but everyone heard it. And suddenly nearly a thousand faces turned to look at the terrified dark haired boy.

"Harry Potter," repeated Dumbledore. Hesitant, Harry finally stood and walked towards the headmaster.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Rose called out. Everyone heard her and watched as the red haired girl sprang out of her seat and followed her brother. It was too late because Dumbledore had already dragged Harry through the small door that led to the trophy room. But that didn't mean that Rose wasn't going to run after them.

"Potter!" She heard Snape call for her but continued running. She had already reached the faculty table and swiftly dodged Hagrid who was trying to stop her and sprinted to the door way.

"Miss Potter!" Snape called out again as he chased the girl. She was already half way down the staircase to the trophy room when he caught her by the arm. Damn his long legs.

"Miss Potter, you are not allowed to go down there," Snape growled at the girl.

"The hell I am! That's my brother, Professor!" The stubborn girl yelled.

"I am well aware of the current circumstances, Miss Potter, but only the champions and their faculty chaperones are allowed to take part in this meeting," Snape told the girl. She wasn't listening. She was trying to break free of his grip.

"I had to go, Professor! Harry needs me!" Rose whined as she tried to pull away from him.

"I doubt he does. The boy cheated and put his name in the Goblet," Snape replied. "He should have known what was coming for him."

"He did not cheat! Harry did not put his name in the Goblet!" Rose snapped, her eyes flaring with rage. With one last tug, she pulled free of Snape's grip and dashed down the staircase into the trophy room.

"Rose!" Snape called out as he ran after the damn girl. The brat managed to slip into the room.

"C'est impossible," cried Madame Maxime, whose enormous hand was resting upon Fleur's shoulder. " 'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most injust."

"Oh! There iz another little girl!" Fleur exclaimed as she was the first to notice Rose's appearance. The champions with their fellow chaperones turned to look at Rose. She stood fiercely by the doorway, unafraid of the adults' disapproving looks.

"Who are you calling a 'little girl'?" she snapped at the French girl. Fleur looked aghast at her comment.

"Rose!" Harry exclaimed in relief as he went to stand by his sister. He grabbed her hand and she squeezed his tightly.

"This is an outrage! We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," said Snape as he entered the room. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here —"

"Thank you, Severus," said Dumbledore firmly, and Snape went quiet. He turned to look at Harry. The boy looked less anxious than before now that he was standing beside his sister.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"No," said Harry. Rose gripped his hand tighter.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" said Professor Dumbledore.

"No," said Harry vehemently.

"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" cried Madame Maxime.

"My brother is not a liar!" Rose snarled. She glared darkly at the tall woman.

"Who is this brat?" Karkaroff yelled. "What is she even doing here!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Cedric spoke up for the first time as he went to stand by the Potters.

"Hey! She is not a brat!" Harry defended.

"You are nothing but a liar, boy!" Karkaroff added. Then Harry and Cedric had to move quickly because Rose lunged at Karkaroff. The two held back Rose who wanted to rip the smug look off of the bastard's face. This act reminded Harry of when Rose had attacked Lockhart after that dolt had magicked all the bones in his arm away.

"What a beast of a girl!" Madame Maxime exclaimed. "Control your students Dumblez-dor!"

"Enough!" said Barty Crouch, a man appalled at the madness occurring before him. "We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Ludo Bagman, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"C'est unjust!"

"I demand all our students names be re submitted until we all have two champions," Karkaroff ordered. "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," growled a voice from near the door. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?" Moody had just entered the room.

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody."

"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out." He paused as he surveyed the room. He held everyone's attention. "Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for this tournament."

"He won't," Rose announced defiantly. She stood with one hand gripping Harry's and the other holding Cedric's. "He won't die." She looked at her brother before turning to look at Cedric. "Neither of them will.

…

***A/N: Please note that parts of Dumbledore's speech, Moody's class, and some of Karkaroff and Maxime's dialogue were taken from the book. **

**Also, please leave a review. They really inspire me to write more and they are the reason why I buckled down and finished this chapter. Thank you and please review. **


	21. Secrets and Infections

**Hello! Another new chapter! I should have the next chapter done in the few days. Please enjoy and read! Also, I'd recommend listening to 'Guns for Hands' by Twenty One Pilots while reading this chapter. **

Chapter 21: Secrets and Infections

When Rose Potter found the smartass that was responsible for the "Potter Stinks!" buttons, she was going to skin them alive and hang them by their toes.

After the announcements of the four champions, mutiny had occurred throughout the school. Their European guests had quickly turned against Harry, angered by the fact that Hogwarts got a second champion and they didn't. The Hufflepuffs, usually kind hearted and loyal, had quickly rejected him as well. The first time in decades that the Hufflepuffs got any sort of glory, and a bloody Gryffindor had to take it away from them. The majority of Slytherins followed the yellow house's lead, always looking for an excuse to turn against the Boy-Who-Lived. Of course anyone in Rose's immediate circle knew better than to bad mouth her brother in her vicinity (she had already hexed a handful of third years in the common room). The Ravenclaws were a bit more neutral. Half of them now disliked Harry and the other half were too busy studying to care.

The Gryffindors, however, were the most shocking. The lions prided themselves in being honorable and noble. Potter putting his name in the goblet did not settle well in their minds. It was disgraceful to sneak and lie to get some sort of glory, they thought. So they did what they did two years ago when they discovered Harry's snake speaking ability: they shunned him.

But that didn't bother Harry. He was used to being a freak and an outsider. But what really got him was that his own _friends _didn't believe him. Ron had argued with him after that particularly feast, complaining that Harry should have told him that he had put his name in the Goblet. Harry tried to tell him that he didn't but the redheaded boy refused to listen. Even Hermione didn't have anything to say to him and sided with Ron.

If Rose and Harry seemed close before, now they were glued at the hip. The twins were always together except for the few classes they didn't share. Rose had already jinxed about handful of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins that were wearing those blasted buttons, which earned her a month's worth of detention from McGonagall. It's not that Harry needed his sister to fight his battles for him; she just couldn't control her anger as much.

News had spread quickly throughout the wizarding world of the fourth champion. Rita Skeeter wasted no time in writing up nearly an article on the topic in the Daily Prophet the very next day. Ironically, her favorite thing to write about was actually Rose Potter, since after all she was the sister and girlfriend of the two Hogwarts champions. Somehow the blasted woman had spun a tale that Rose was 'confused and lost' as she was unable to choose between 'her beloved twin brother and her one true love.'' After reading that particular line, Rose showed her displeasure by igniting the paper in the middle of the Great Hall…which earned her another detention from McGonagall.

"Honestly Miss Potter! At this rate, you'll have as many detentions on your record as your father did!" McGonagall scolded.

"You really should knock it off," Cedric told her later that day as he walked her to class. Harry had divination while Cedric had a free period. "I know you want to be a prefect next year, but you'll never get there by racking up all these detentions."

"Honestly, it's not a big deal," Rose said with a roll of her eyes. "I'll just ask McGonagall if Professor Snape could cover my detentions, and then those just become extra lessons. Besides, I'm a shoe in for prefect in my year. Snape would _never_ pick anyone over me."

"Whatever you say, Rose," Cedric sighed. There was a silent tension between them. Since the meeting in the trophy room a night ago, neither had spoken about that particular topic. Both felt the pressure of the tournament since the first challenge was scheduled for the end of the month. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek when they reached her Ancient Runes class. "Just try to stay out of trouble."

_Like you did when you volunteered your name and become champion? _Rose thought snidely. Oh yeah, she was still upset about that one. But she didn't vocalize her opinion and nodded her head.

"I'll see you at dinner?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah, I'll send you a postcard." That was a joke since, the Hufflepuff table had unofficially banned any Potters from its vicinity. Ironically, Cedric, who was the reason for the whole 'Puffs and Potter feud, was the only one from his house who openly communicated with the Potters.

The first thing Rose did when she entered the classroom was glare at Hermione. She shot the bushy haired girl her best 'Severus Snape' glower. Hermione squirmed in her seat which caused the redhead to smirk proudly.

"Please take a seat, Miss Potter," Professor Babblings ordered. Her pride was short lived because Rose quickly realized that the only empty seat left was beside Hermione. She stomped to the table and put her bag down.

"Rose, please," Hermione whispered to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak to traitors," Rose snapped back. That ended their conversation, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence as Professor Babblings conducted class.

When the bell rang, Rose was the first to leave, followed quickly by Hermione.

"Please, Rose just listen to me for a second," Hermione called after her.

"No!" Rose replied childishly.

"Please Rose just listen! I believe Harry!" said Hermione. "I'm sorry!" But her plead reached deaf ears. Rose had already ran off, not caring that she shared the next class with the Gryffindor girl. Instead, she ran up the staircase to the seventh floor. Harry should be coming out of Divination right now and she wanted to walk with him to her next class. When she reached the top of the staircase, she was breathless and panting.

_This is what happens when they cancel bloody Quidditch, _Rose thought. _Oh, what I'd do for some water. _

Just as the thought popped in her head, a door appeared. It was small, barely the size of a broom closet door, but it had a sign that read: "WATER FOUNTION."

_Odd, _Rose thought, who hadn't seen the door appear. _I didn't know that Hogwarts had any drinking fountains. _Cautiously, Rose opened the door. To her surprise, she found an old fashion muggle drinking foundation attached to the wall of a tiny room. Still parched, she pressed the fountain's button and drank from the water that squirted out of the faucet head.

Satisfied, Rose closed the door and went in search of her brother. Behind her, the door had vanished, melting away into the limestone castle walls.

…

"Have any fours?"

"Go fish."

"Damnit Potter! You must have a four!"

"I told you, Malfoy! I don't have any bleeding fours!"

"Show me your hand then."

"No way! That's cheating!"

"Will you two quiet down?" Rose snapped. The three of them (Rose, Harry, and Draco) were currently sitting in a deserted classroom on the fifth floor. The empty room was the perfect place for them to hide away from prying eyes and gossiping voices. They had started off by doing homework, but Harry had gotten distracted by the silence and challenged Draco to a game of 'Go Fish.' The Malfoy heir had finally gotten a grasp at the muggle game, and accepted Harry's challenge. Rose remained seated at her desk as she completed her DADA essay.

"Harry, have you finished reading that book I gave you?"

"Hm, yeah." The book was an old tome Rose had found from the library dedicated to the Triwizard Tournament.

"Harry! You have to take this seriously!" Rose scolded. "The first challenge is only a month away and it can be literally anything!"

"She's right, Harry," Draco added. "These challenges are nothing to laugh at."

"Fine," Harry huffed. He reshuffled the deck with a look of irritation on his face. Stupid freaking tournament with its bloody challenges and its stupid cup that spat out his blasted name.

"We'll start preparations immediately," Rose announced. "We've already covered most defensive and offensive spells-"

"When?" Draco interrupted.

"Over the summer," Harry supplied. "Sirius and Remus taught us."

"Anyway," Rose continued. "We gonna have to learn more spells. We might be good at combative spells, but we're absolute rubbish with charms."

"I will, Rose," Harry replied. He sighed glumly. Oh how he wished he had a normal life. Sensing her brother's distress, Rose placed her essay down and went to hug Harry.

"It's going to be okay," she assured him.

"Yeah, Harry," said Draco, trying to sound comforting. "Besides, who's gonna mess with you when your sister hexes anyone who looks at you funny."

"Oi!" Rose said, whacking Draco in the head. This caused Harry to laugh, and relief spiked through Rose's body.

…

_Dear Moony,_

_How have you been doing? Are the transformations going alright? Padfoot told me that you were having some trouble the last few times and I just wanted to check up on you. _

_I suppose you've heard already about the whole Triwizard Tournament mess. That quim, Rita Skeeter, has the news plastered on the front page of every newspaper. I swear, one of these days I'm going to get some lawyers and sue her for slander._

_Anyway, Harry's shook up about the whole thing. Everyone at school thinks he's cheated and put his name in the Goblet. That's impossible. Dumbledore's age restriction line was infallible. I watched Fred and George try to cross it and fail over a dozen time. Whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire is of age and wants Harry dead. That I know for certain. I think he or she might be a Death Eater looking for an indirect way to hurt Harry. But whatever their goal is, they're not gonna succeed because Harry is not gonna die in this bloody tournament. He's gonna survive and he's gonna bloody win._

_I love you, Remus. Please take care of yourself. I miss you so much and it breaks my heart to hear that you aren't doing well. _

_Also, according to this freaking tournament there's a Yule Ball happening during Christmas Break so Harry and I aren't going to be able to come back home until Easter. Why don't you and Padfoot think about coming to visit during one of the Hogsmeade weekend?_

_Much Love,_

_Rose_

_P.S. I think it's about time that Harry and I get our own Marauder's nicknames. And 'Prongs Jr' and 'Prongslette' don't count. _

Remus sighed as he read Rose's latest letter. His girl worried too much about him. He wondered what he should tell her. Should he tell her that his wolf self had become terribly attached to her after scarring her last summer. Or that her absence had made her transformation nearly unbearable. During the summer, Moony could at least smell his girl through the floor boards and listen to her soft breathing as she slept. Now, Moony laid melancholically on the cellar floor howling in abandonment as he called for his girl who was a hundred miles away. The wolf couldn't understand that Rose was away at school. All he understood was that his girl was gone and he didn't know when she would return. Remus had woken up the next morning oozing disappointment. His girl wasn't there to heal him or patch him up or tell him that she loved him or kiss his forehead like she always did. He felt selfish for feeling such emotions. Instead of being grateful for Sirius's unwavering symbol of friendship, he yearned for Rose's company instead.

Speaking about Sirius, without the twins, the man was slowly slipping back into his own despair. Sirius had woken Remus up for the past few weeks screaming about nightmares that involved dementors and jail cells. The combination of twelve years at Azkaban and the infamous Black Family insanity were now torturing the poor man. At least when his godchildren were around he was able to stay present enough to ignore the pestering thoughts. But now, in the absence of Harry's cheerful voice and Rose's glittering eyes, Sirius would sit at the kitchen table, staring vacantly at a blank wall.

"I didn't do it. It was the rat," Sirius would mumble under his breath when Remus would enter the kitchen. Instead of indulging his madden friend, the sandy haired man would sigh and lead him to the living room. There, he'd seat the man down and flip on their newly installed television. Remus reasoned that if Sirius was staring emptily at the Technicolor screen of their telly, then he looked less insane.

Exhaling again, Remus pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. Hedwig, who had delivered Rose's letter, glared at him for taking so long. He was so tired of keeping secrets… but not tired enough to reveal any.

_Dear Rose,_

_We'll work on getting you pups some Marauder names, although they are based off our animal forms._

_Please don't worry about me, Rose. You have so much on your plate right now than to be worrying over some old man. I'm fine. The past full moons have just been tougher than before, but its nothing that I can't handle. Don't worry._

_Yes, I've heard about the tournaments. It been the front page news for the past few days. The current circumstances are quite worrisome if I'm being honest. I can imagine that there are still quite a few people who want Harry dead especially after the Quidditch World Cup. Stay wary, Rose. Be careful who you trust and make sure you and Harry stay together. Help him train for the challenges as well. The first is meant to test the champion's courage, the second their loyalty, and the last their persistence. _

_I love you too, Rose. Just please don't worry. I'll talk to Sirius about coming over for a weekend. We might also come to see the first challenge. I'll keep you updated._

_Love, _

_Moony_

"Hm," Rose mumbled as she refolded the letter. She turned to stare out at the Great Lake. She sat outside on a patch of dry grass. Despite the chill weather of Scotland in November, Rose stubbornly wanted to watch the giant squid bob in the green lake. She didn't get cold, however, another side effect of her lycanthrope scars. Remus said that werewolves were always warm.

"Is everything alright, Rosa Potter?" came the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood. The blonde girl sat down beside her.

"Hey, Luna," Rose greeted. "I'm fine. I just have a bit on my mind."

"Ah yes," Luna spoke softly. Her light blue eyes remained focused on the lake but she rested her gentle hand on Rose's forehead as if she was checking her temperature. "You're angry, and oh so scared."

"Am I that transparent?" Rose snorted. Luna's hand felt so refreshingly cold on her head. She hadn't realized how heated she had become.

"No, you're not," Luna replied. "But the burling pixies do enjoy gossiping in my vicinity."

"Of course," Rose chuckled. "Those damn pixies are too nosy for their own good." Luna smiled faintly. She knew that Rose didn't believe in the creatures she saw, but at least she pretended for her own sake. It was more than what most did.

"Indeed they are," Luna sighed. Her hand went down and she began to hum a soft melody. It was soothing and Rose found herself leaning against the younger girl.

"Where are your shoes, Luna?" Rose asked suddenly. She had just noticed that the blonde was walking around barefoot.

"Hm? Oh, heavens, I wouldn't know," Luna said as if she too just noticed her lack of shoes. "I think I must have lost them again." Without saying anything, Rose pulled off her own shoes and began to peel off her grey woolen knee high socks. She quickly rolled on her socks on Luna's frozen feet. Satisfied, Rose clipped back on her own pair of Mary Janes.

"If I was better at transfiguration, I would have made you a new pair of shoes," Rose told her. "But at least now your feet won't be cold."

"Thank you Rosa Potter," Luna smiled happily. She wiggled her toes in her new pair of socks. Oh, how wonderful it was to have a friend.

"What should I do Luna?" asked Rose. "About Harry, about Cedric, about Remus."

"Rosa," Luna hummed. "Do what you do best, my dear." Rose looked up and stared at the blonde. Her blue eyes stared down at her through long pale lashes.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Follow your instincts and regain control of the situation," Luna said simply. "It's what you do best."

Rose paused as she absorbed the other girl's words. Luna smiled back at her. She could see the gears turning in Rosa Potter's head, and felt a pride balloon inside of her. Truthfully, Luna enjoyed Rose's meddling; it added a bit more spice to life in the castle.

Suddenly Rose popped up to her feet, and flung her arms around Luna.

"You're right, Luna!" Rose said. "I need to get Harry on a training schedule! Oh, I need to bug Professor Snape to start my lessons so that I can make that potion to help Remus. And I need to talk to Cedric!" With one last kiss to the blonde's cheek, Rose ran off to the direction of the castle. She needed to go to the library and make a list of spells then she'd go to Snape's office and schedule her lessons. Then she'd write up the schedule and get it to Harry. They'd need to find an appropriate and private room to train in for the time being. And then she'd find Cedric.

Luna smiled again as she watched her friend run off. A white butterfly flew by and landed on her awaiting hand.

"I hope all goes well, Mr. Butterfly," she said to the small insect. "The twins are quite powerful and they'll survive. But I'm afraid that those around them won't be as strong." The butterfly fluttered its wings, acknowledging Luna's words. "And it will kill them to know that they can't save everyone." Another flutter. "But they can't know that now can they, Mr. Butterfly? Because hope and love is the best motivation anyone can have." The small insect fluttered again before taking off and flying away. Luna sat for a few more minutes, watching as her small friend flew away.

…

Filled with determination, Rose walked confidently through the castle corridors. She had just returned from an impromptu meeting with Snape who scheduled her new potion lessons for every Tuesday night while her Occlumency lessons would be on Thursday. That was completely fine since she didn't have Quidditch to take up her free time. She would dedicate the other nights of the week to Harry and preparing him for the first challenge. She figured she'd use the Chamber of Secrets as a hideaway, but would make a note to ask Dobby, her brother's elf who worked at the school during the year, if he knew a better location. Now she needed to find Harry and get him to look at the list she made him.

"Oomph!" Suddenly a tall body slammed into her as turned the corner. She fell the ground and watched as her books scattered across the ground.

"I'm so sorry about that Rose!" came the voice of Cedric Diggory as he scrambled to lift her to her feet before retrieving her fallen books. "I didn't see you there."

"It's okay," she responded. "I actually was looking for you. We need to talk."

"Oh, yeah," was his reply. He pulled out his wand and charmed the books to return to her schoolbag. "About the tournament-"

"Listen," Rose said, cutting him off. "I've created a training schedule for Harry, and you're more than welcome to join us. This week we're going to work on dueling and then next week we'll perfect our charm work. I've also have a plan to see if I can sneak out some more details about the challenges. And then we'll-"

"Rose," Cedric interrupted. "Can I say something?"

"Yes, of course," she said, feeling impatience creep into her. She needed to find Harry before dinner time.

"I think it would be better if you stay out of all of this." His jaw was clenched as if it pained him to speak.

"What?" came Rose's immediate reply. "What do you mean? Stay out of this?"

"Rose," Cedric's tone was serious. He look down at her with his steel grey eyes. "It's against the rules for any of the champions to receive outside help anyway. And I would rather you not get involved in the tournament at all. Stay behind and just watch, like everyone else."

"Like some bloody bystander?" Rose barked back. His words felt like a slap to the face. "I'm so much more than a freaking bystander! I can help you! I can help you win the bloody tournament for Merlin's sake!" She raised her arms in exasperation. She turned and started to stomp away, causing Cedric to follow after her.

"C'mon, Rose, I'm a sixth year. I think I can handle myself," Cedric said. He was trying to sound comforting, but instead it came out condescending. Rose's eyes widen and she felt a wave of rage wash over her. She stopped immediately and turned to point an accusing finger at him.

"Oh! I see what's going on here," Rose spat. "I'm just a stupid fourth year. What do I know about anything! You're a bloody sixth year and a prefect to boot! You'll _handle _yourself, won't you!"

"Rose! That's not what I meant," Cedric said. "I just mean, that I can get through the tournament without bothering you!"

"Oh, then _who _are you going to bother, Cedric, hm?" Rose snapped, glaring darkly at her boyfriend. "Maybe you should just go to Cho Chang!"

"Cho Chang? What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Cedric said. Merlin, women were absolutely crazy.

"_'Oh, Cho Chang is soooo great at Quidditch! Did you see that she got top marks in Charms?" _Rose said, trying to imitate Cedric. "Honestly, why don't you just date her?"

"Rose, are you serious? I'm dating _you!_" came Cedric anguished response. "You're acting absolutely mental!"

That was not the right thing to say since Cedric had to unfortunate experience of watching Rose turn an unpleasant shade of red. Her green eyes turned nearly black in her fury and her entire body began trembling in rage. In one quick movement, she grabbed him by the wrist and started to drag him away in a different direction.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Cedric asked, as panic began to rise. Who knew that Rose became freakishly strong when she was angry?

She didn't respond. Instead, she dragged him into an open courtyard. She let go and turned to face him. Her wand was drawn.

"Take out your wand," she hissed. The students in the area, began to watch them.

"What?" Cedric asked.

"We're going to duel," Rose said. She whipped off her black and green Slytherin robes and banished away her schoolbag. She may not be able to cast a stupid heating charm like Cho bloody Chang, but she could duel like no other. She stood there, with only her white button down shirt, green tie, pleated grey skirt, and a pair of Mary Janes.(_Where were her socks,_ Cedric thought briefly.) If it had been any other time of day, she would have looked like a pretty little school girl. However, now, she looked absolutely venomous.

"Take out your wand, Diggory," she repeated. Her face was stone cold, but her hair looked like fire as it flickered in the wind.

"C'mon, Rose, you can't be serious," Cedric said, absolutely flabbergasted. More students seemed to have appeared, eager to see watch the outcome of the dispute between the notorious Slytherin Princess and the now famous Hufflepuff Champion.

"Oi! What's all the ruckus about?" came the croaking voice of Mad-Eye Moody. The older man came limping in with his fake blue eyes whirling around like crazy.

"Oh, thank merlin, Professor," Cedric said, turning to the DADA teacher. The Professor would definitely end this madness and make Rose see some reason.

"We were just about duel, Professor," Rose informed him as if she was describing the weather.

"No! We weren't!" Cedric argued. Rose opened her mouth to argue back when Moody stomped his cane loudly against the ground.

"Enough!" he said and both teens shut up. Moody stared at the couple and pondered what to do. Diggory looked absolutely terrified at the thought of fighting his girlfriend. The boy gave him a pleading look, begging for him to intervene. On the other hand, the Potter girl was seething in anger and looked prepared to kill. How interesting. If Moody had been any other professor, maybe he would have done the right thing. Good thing for him, he wasn't any ordinary teacher.

"Very well, then," Moody croaked. "Wands up."

"What?" Cedric blanched. Rose simply grinned evilly with her wand already drawn.

"If you're going to duel, might as well have a referee," Moody reckoned. Diggory made another sound of discomfort before finally surrendering. The boy also removed his outer robes and pulled out of wand.

"Ten feet distance," Moody ordered. They took their steps back and turned to face each other.

_Oh, why couldn't we just fight like normal couples? _Cedric thought. Because they weren't just any normal couple. He was dating Rose Potter: the girl who looked the devil straight in the eye and destroyed his diary, the girl who faced down an adult werewolf and survived, and the girl who'd duel with her boyfriend just because he called her 'mental.'

"Bow," said Moody. They did. Nearly half the school including some of their European guests surrounded the open courtyard. Bets were already being made. The students from Drumstrang and Beauxbaton put their money down on Diggory while some of the Hogwarts upperclassmen who knew of Rose and her infamous reputation gladly put money down on her.

Currently, Daphne Greengrass, who was also in the audience, bet ten galleons on her redheaded friend against some bloke from Beauxbaton. Daphne already knew that she was going to spend those ten galleons on ordering a new bracelet from the wizarding catalog. Oh, maybe she should get the sapphire one instead of opal?

"One, two, three, begin!" Moody shot green sparks from his wand, signaling the start of the duel.

"_Bombarda!" _The curse rolled off of Rose's tongue easily.

_"Protego!" _Cedric said, as quickly as possible. Her curse hit his shield and destroyed it. What the hell? How did she know a sixth year level curse already? Cedric only knew just learned the spell in class last week with Moody. At first, he was planning to hold back, thinking that Rose was underprepared to duel with him. But now he knew better, and would have to stay vigilant if he didn't want to be hexed to oblivion.

"_Affligo!" _Rose casted. She too was planning on holding back, but as soon as she felt her magic mixed with wrath surge through her body, she couldn't help herself. Her spell hit Cedric square in the chest, causing the older boy to fall to his feet.

"_Stupefy!" _The red spell from Cedric whizzed towards Rose.

"_Deflecto," _she said as she lazily flicked her wand, redirecting the red stunner to hit a group of second year Hufflepuff girls who jumped out of the way with shrieks.

"_Castreo_!" Rose casted. The hex hit Cedric right in the crotch.

"Rose!" Cedric howled in pain as he dropped to his knees and clutched his now throbbing (in pain) crotch.

"_Expelliarmus," _she said. Cedric's wand flew out of his grasp and landed gracefully in Rose's awaiting hands.

"Potter wins!" Moody announced, not that anyone needed to be told.

"Still some stupid fourth year?" Rose asked, as a devilish grin spread on her face. She dropped his wand at his feet, and flicked her own. Her robes flew to her and landed on her shoulders. She turned and stalked away, robes billowing behind her. The students who were in her way, quickly moved, deeply afraid of her.

…

Word spread like wild fire throughout Hogwarts. Everyone knew about the huge fight between Cedric Diggory and Rose Potter. This juicy piece of information only added more drama to the rumor mill, and the residents of the castle quickly ate it up. Of course, most rumors were never true. Someone had spread the lie that Rose and Cedric had broken up (which they officially hadn't) because Rose refused to have sex with him. This led to new colorful interactions for the couple. A flustered Cedric had to deal with different girls throwing themselves onto him while boys from Beauxbaton and Drumstrang flirted shameless with Rose, assuring her that they'd be able to handle her better than Diggory could.

Naturally, she sent three arrogant teenaged boys to the Hospital Wing that week.

Although Rose had proven her worth to both her boyfriend and the students, she couldn't help but feel hollow. She had to admit that she was prone to ridiculous outbursts whenever her emotions got control over her. And even if she would never admit it to anyone, she did regret humiliating Cedric. She also regretted ignoring Hermione and not listening to her. But she was stubborn to a fault. She was too proud to admit when she had done something wrong, and now she was suffering for it. She still had Harry, Draco, Daphne, and Luna, but she still missed her other friends. She missed sitting at the Gryffindor table and laughing with Hermione as they watched Ron try to fit three hard boiled eggs in his mouth. And she missed Cedric and snogging him in broom closets, and lying with each other as they talked about their day and shared small secrets.

"It will all work out," Luna had told her after her fight with Cedric. The blond girl had intercepted Rose that Monday night after her duel. Rose was sitting angrily in the kitchens chewing on a raw streak when the blonde found her. Luna hugged her so tightly and didn't let go until the redhead had stopped shaking from anger and calmed down.

_It will all work out, _Rose repeated the mantra in her head as she headed down to the Dungeons. It was now Thursday and time for her first Occlumency lesson with Snape. She had greatly enjoyed her potion engineering lesson two nights ago and already had pages of ideas written down of possible ways to improve the Wolfsbane Potion.

"Enter," came the monotone voice of Severus Snape as she knocked on his office door. The man was sitting behind his desk, reading a letter that was on thick, expensive stationary. Rose wondered who the possible sender of the letter could be as she sat down on her usual armchair.

"Have you read the chapters I've assigned you?" Snape asked, never looking up from the letter.

"Yes, sir," Rose replied. He had sent her an owl that morning, ordering her read five chapters from an Occlumency book that he provided her from the restricted section of the library. Not wanting to arrive without completing the task, she had read the chapters during her History of Magic class.

"Then you should know by now how these lessons shall be conducted," the sallow skinned man said. He tucked the letter away before standing up.

"Yes, sir," Rose repeated. She stood as well and followed Snape into his classroom.

"I will attempt to enter your mind, and you will try force me out," he said. She sat down on a wooden stool as he pulled out his slender wand. "Focus on breathing and clear your mind."

Rose nodded her head and closed her eyes. She tried to do what the book had instructed and tried to imagine high walls and fences erecting around her mind.

"_Legilimens." _Rose gasped as she felt the sudden intrusion into her mind. The weak fences that she had erected quickly fell and Snape entered her mind. Memories began to flash before both of them.

_A five year old Rose running around frantically as she tried to find her brother through the hallways of their primary school. They were sent to separate classrooms and being away from her twin for the first time had caused her to panic. She ran away from her classroom and kindergarten teacher's screeching voice in search of Harry. _

Another memory. _A seven year old Rose sat at the curb, with hot fresh tears of frustration streaming down her face. Behind her stood a seven year old Harry as he tried to pick the bright pink bubblegum out of her thick red hair before their aunt picked them up from school._

_"Don't cry, Rosie," came child Harry's wavering voice. "Those girls were being nasty bullies."_

Another memory. _A nine year old Rose was throwing rocks at Dudley and his gang of bullies. The group of boys were taking turning punching Harry and Rose was furious. _

_"Stop hurting, my brother!" Rose squeaked as continued to throw rocks at them. One of the rocks hit a boy hard in the head and he dropped to the ground. His friends turned around and glared at Rose. The tiny girl clenched her jaw and threw more rocks at them. She hit another one in the eye and the group of boys began to flee. _

_"I'm gonna tell dad, you freaks," Dudley wailed at her before kicking Harry one last time in the stomach and running away. _

"Enough," Snape bellowed as he pulled himself out of her mind. Rose opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor, panting heavily, and sweating bullets. She got up and tried to sit back up on the chair.

"Here," Snape said as he summoned a cup of water to her. She gratefully drank the water. "We'll try again. You'll need to clear you mind and focus on keeping me out of your head."

"Okay," Rose breathed out. "I'll try."

"_Legilimens."_

_…_

Rita Skeeter was good at what she did. She was a journalist by trade, but was infamous at the _Daily Prophet _office for her particular brand of writing. A master of the pen –er— quill, she knew how to string together a set of words that allured the largest audience. That's why her articles were always on the front page of the paper. Some may call what she did yellow journalism, but it paid the bills and she did it well.

Now, her current topic of writing was the Triwizard Tournament. Previously, she had decided to merrily report on whatever fatalities were likely to occur and possibly try to dig up any drama she could find on the champions. But then, Merlin himself presented her with the loveliest gift. Harry Potter, _The Boy-Who-Lived _aka the most famous teenager in the wizarding world, was chosen as the _second _Hogwarts champion! And to make it even better, his twin sister Rose Potter, the second most famous teenager in the wizarding world, was dating the _first _Hogwarts champion.

To top it all off, her boss, the editor in chief of the _Daily Prophet_, had chosen _her _to report on the Wand Weighing Ceremony at Hogwarts. Putting on her luckiest pair of robes (bright alligator green) and grabbing her Quick Quotes Quill, Rita arrived early to the school, eager to absorb as much information as possible.

The first to appear was Fleur Delacour. The witch arrived dressed in her baby blue school robes and her tall headmistress hovering around her. She barely got anything out of the blonde girl due to her thick accent and she kept pretending to not understand Rita's questions. The only interesting thing that she got out of the interview was that the Delacour girl was part veela.

Then Viktor Krum arrived, and Rita was quick to bombard the Bulgarian boy with questions. He was polite enough and tried to respond to the best of his abilities. However, when Rita began to ask him about quidditch and the recent World Cup, he shut down.

"I do not discuss business," Krum said seriously. "If you have any questions, ask my manager." He then proceeded not to respond to anymore of Rita Skeeter's pesky queries.

The Diggory boy was also a bust. The boy quickly flustered under her sharp gaze and could barely respond to her questions. He seemed shy and a bit awkward, which was strange considering how handsome he was. One would think that if you were blessed with such a strong jawline and charming grey eyes that there would be some suave behind it.

"How about Rose Potter?" Rita Skeeter had asked, her brown eyes twinkling mischievously. The Diggory boy visibly flinched at the sound of the name. "How is your current relationship with her?"

"I-I don't want to talk about her," the boy stammered. He nervously scratched the back of his head and avoided looking at her.

"Oh? Trouble in paradise," Skeeter asked, examining the fidgeting boy. Before she could get a response, a gem walked in. The Boy-Who-Lived just entered the room, and Rita Skeeter jumped on to him immediately. She quickly dragged boy into an empty broom closet in order to conduct her interrogation- er- interview in private.

Oh, and she was having the best conversation with the Potter boy, before Dumbledore had to come in and ruin her fun. The old dingbat had the audacity to throw her out of the room too! Claiming that the weighing the wands had to be done without too many people in the room.

"Take pictures!" she hissed as her camera man as the door slammed shut in her face.

"So they kicked you out too?" came a young voice from behind her. Rita twirled around and to her surprise saw one Rose Potter. Oh, what a blessing in disguise.

"Rose Potter! Just the girl I wanted to see," Skeeter practically purred. Rose sneered at the blond woman. Suddenly, Skeeter's enchanted quill and notepad rose up in the air again and began inscribing. "Rose Potter, what are you thoughts on the current circumstances? Are you upset about your brother's involvement in the tournament? Did you know he put his name in the goblet? Did you help him? How about Diggory? Did he know? How would you describe your relationship with him?"

"_Reducto," _Rose pointed her wand at the magical quill and notepad, and the objects exploded.

"My quill!" Skeeter screeched. "You brat! You owe me a new one-"

"Listen," Rose cut her off, her young voice now sounding more solemn and deadly. "You will stay away from brother and me. Got it?"

"Excuse me, little girl?" Rita retorted. "You do not tell me what to do."

"Oh my god, lady, I am not in the mood to deal with whatever superiority complex you may have," Rose growled as she rubbed her temple. Her other hand twitched around her wand. "You're going to back off or I'm going to make you."

"You and what army?" Skeeter scoffed. For the second time that month, Rose felt rage seep into her skin, dripping into her magical core. She looked up at the blonde woman with her eyes dark with anger.

"Back off." This time her voice held finality. And for some strange reason, Rita Skeeter felt compelled to listen. Her lips refused to open and reply with another snarky retort. Instead, the woman walked off and continued walking until she pasted the castle gates.

…

The Riddle Manor had truly fallen into shambles. After the sudden death of the groundkeeper, dust and grime quickly covered every available surface. The only room that was still habitable was the main study. A large fire roared inform of a plush armchair, warming the seater. Nagini slithered around the chair, keeping her master company.

_Ssssoooon, _the snake thought. _Sssoon, my massster will be strong again. He will be great. _For now, she would take care of him, and make sure he regained his strength. She'd also make sure that that idiot rat didn't unintentionally harm her master.

Speaking of that idiot.

"M-master," the rat came wobbling in. "H-he's b-back."

"Bring him in," came the raspy voice of her master. He faintly raised his hand in gesture. A moment passed and a new figure entered the room. Barty Crouch Jr. stood at the doorway. He knelt down as he waited for his master to address him.

"Speak," croaked the Dark Lord. "What have you learned?"

"You were right, my lord," Crouch said. "The boy is powerful and he's seems to be improving every day. He's accepted his place as champion in the tournament. He was agreed to participate in the challenges." He paused as he watched the thin pallid hand twirl a yew wand.

"Continue," came the raspy voice. The Dark Lord was pleased.

"The girl, um, she is powerful as well, more powerful than we thought," Crouch said carefully. The hand stopped twirling the yew wand.

"Explain," said the Dark Lord.

"She's like her brother in abilities," Crouch added. "But her magic becomes amplified when she's angry." Another pause, the yew wand began to twirl again. "I think she might have an affinity to the Dark Arts, my lord. I showed their class the Unforgivable Curses, like you instructed. She looked absolutely intrigued by the Cruciatus curse and barely flinched at the Killing Curse."

Silence settled around the room as the Dark Lord considered his words.

"Test out your little theory, Crouch," their master said. "If what you say is true, it must be exploited."

"Yes my lord."

"Dismissed."

With one last bow, Barty Crouch Jr. made his way out of the Riddle Manor. Once he felt himself exit the multiple wards placed on the building, he apparated. Normally he would have drank from his flask and transformed again, but he had business to do.

Witches and wizards were all born with magical cores. These cores provided the person with their abilities, but were also responsible for the wizard's elongated life span. Each core was different, and held their own affinity to either light, dark or grey magic, Some like Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore were blessed with cores so large and grand that their magical abilities were nearly infinite despite Riddle's being wickedly dark and Dumbledore's being absolutely light. Most had averaged sized cores allowing them to provide magic proficiently but preventing them from becoming too powerful. The size of one cores were decided upon birth. It took time, practice, and maturity, however, before one could access their cores fully.

The affinity of one's core was often determined by inheritance. Families and parents passed down core affinity to their children, such as the Black family who were notorious for their dark affinity (although Sirius Black would sooner hex you to hell before admitting that his core was just as dark as his cousins' and late brother's).

Rose and Harry Potter and other magicals raised by muggles never knew this, for it was the kind of information that pureblood mothers told their children at night in lieu of fairytales.

There was a few rare cases of wizards and witches' magical cores being tampered with after birth. Some people had their cores permanently destroyed using Blood Magick, an art so ancient and illegal that the last known cases of it was during the Dark Ages. This punishment was enough to devastate and kill a wizard. Others could have their cores enlarged, although the price was the life of someone they cared deeply for.

On October 31st 1981, the day of James Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans's deaths, two infants had their magical cores enlarged. When Tom Riddle raised his wand to Harry Potter and casted the Killing Curse, he had destroyed himself. Lily's love had protected her children, but she could protect them from the rest.

Many things happened when the Killing Curse rebounded off of Harry Potter's forehead and shot back at Lord Voldemort. First, Voldemort's physical body perished, but his horcruxes anchored his soul and magical core to the Earth. The soul of Tom Riddle, still fragile, cracked and a shard landed it's self into Harry Potter's scared forehead. Being the soul fragment of Lord Voldemort, it burrowed itself into Harry's mind, using its own body's death to anchor itself into the body as a horcrux.

After the shattering of his soul, Tom Riddle's magical core became also explosive. Shards broke off his own core, in search of warm _living _human bodies. Luckily, it found two. The first shard followed the soul fragment and sank into Harry Potter's scar. The piece of core used the death of Lillian Rosemarie Potter nee Evans as tribute and expanded the baby boy's magical core. It latched on to the soul piece of Tom Riddle and did not infect Harry Potter's soul.

The other shard, much larger and volatile than the former, found sanctuary in the infant body of Rose Potter. This piece used James Charles Potter's death as sacrifice to enlarge the magical core of the girl.

The piece of alien magical core inside of Rose Potter didn't linger. Instead, it seep down into her own core and latched onto her soul. Over the course of hours, the fragment from Tom Riddle's magical being had sewn itself into Rose's core, infecting it. It altered her affinity from light to dark. Her core, inherited from her parents, two light wizards, was overcome by the dark fragment until it emulated Tom Riddle's own core.

No one would ever imagine that Rose Potter was a dark witch. A long ritual involving goblins and the consensually given blood of the recipient could verify a person's core affinity. However, simply assuming based on family relations were much easier. Forcing someone to perform certain dark or light spells could also do the job.

Barty Crouch Jr. apparated directly to Knockturn Alley. Even at the dead of night, the street was still bustily with untrustworthy figures. Crouch pulled his cloak tighter around his person, and then entered Borgin and Burkes. The shopkeeper didn't greet him, but stared as Crouch skimmed the multiple bookcases.

_This should keep her busy, _Crouch thought as he picked up a leather bound book. The thin book was filled with different introductory dark curses. Owning it would get anyone arrested. Performing any of the curses in it would get your wand snapped and get you a one way ticket to Azkaban. However, with a few charms and a bit of editing, the tome could easily resemble an average DADA spellbook.

"Seventy five galleons," the shopkeeper croaked. Crouch threw a pouch of coins at the man and tucked the book into his cloak pocket. He apparated away immediately.

If Crouch was correct, then he'd be the first one to ever indulge Rose Potter's magical core. And after the witch performed her first dark spell, she would crave more and more, becoming addicted to the foreign magic that would fester and ignite the darkness hibernating in her core.

Barty Crouch Jr. would have Rose Potter corrupted and ruined by the end of the year...

How lovely.

…

**Whelp! That was dramatic. The stuff about the magical cores is not canon but this is fanfiction anyway so most stuff won't be canon. We will be straying far away from the events of the books as the twins get older. The next chapter will go over the first challenge and possibly the Yule Ball… I'm not sure yet if the ball will be in the next chapter or have its own chapter because I planning something big for the Yule Ball. Cheers!**

**To those who are reviewing about the future and future pairings involving Rose and others: Everyone's future pairings are still up in the air, and will be until they say "I do." Personally, I feel like high school relationships shouldn't determine where they end up when they're adults. Draco's obsession for Rose will begin to manifest in the next few chapters, but naturally Rose won't notice for a while. But I'm not sure if we're going to do a full fledge Rose/Draco just yet because I quite enjoy Draco losing his mind while Rose is with other guys. Hehe.**

**Please leave me some reviews and I'll keep updating~ I love hearing everyone's opinions and they truly have an effect on the plot of this story.**


	22. Bathroom Floor and Dragons

Chapter 22: Bathroom Floors and Dragons

Two weeks. That's how much time they had until the first challenge…and they still had no idea what it was.

By now, the twins had exhausted the amount of research and training they could do. Both were so tired as well. Harry was physically tired from the extra work that Rose had him doing while also trying to maintain his classwork. His nightmares were still happening but the mind exercises that Rose was making him do were helping slightly.

On the other hand, Rose felt her self being spread thin. Juggling extra lessons with Snape, training sessions with Harry, classwork, and purposefully avoiding Cedric, left Rose feeling awfully worn-out.

"You have too many mangled twirlnacks following you," Luna told her one day. The pair was sitting the library. Luna was completing her homework while Rose was reading her Occlumency book. The blonde haired girl still lacked any shoes, but was gladly wearing a pair of woolen grey socks.

"What do mangled twirlnacks do to a person, Luna?" Rose asked absentmindedly as she scanned the book. After her second lesson with Snape and reading the entire book he had given her, she had successfully been able to push him out of her head after the fifth memory. It was improvement, but she was nowhere near mastering it. She also wanted to learn Legilimency as well although she'd need to do more than blackmail him to get him to teach her that.

"They like making people mad," Luna informed her. "You've been mad lately, Rosa. It's been affecting your magic." The girl spoke as if everything she was saying was plainly obvious. Then she pulled out something from her bag. "I made you a daisy chain to wear. It will make the twirlnacks go away." Without waiting for Rose to respond, Luna dropped a crown of white daisies onto her head.

"Thanks Luna," Rose said. A smile rose to her face as she gently touched her newest accessory. "This should help."

"Excuse me." A new voice interrupted their conversation. Both girls turned to see a nervous looking boy standing by their table. He was a sixth year Hufflepuff, and Rose recognized immediately as Jacob Dewell, one of Cedric's friends.

"Hullo," Luna greeted warmly. Rose remained silent as she scrutinized the boy. He placed down a roll of parchment onto the table.

"Cedric wanted me to give you this." He didn't wait for her to respond and fled.

"Coward," Rose growled as she snatched up the paper.

"Count to ten, Rosa," Luna instructed. "Remember the twirlnacks." Sighing loudly, Rose closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing before counting to ten. Once she was calmed down enough, she opened the letter.

_Dear Rose,_

_I know you probably think that it's cowardly of me to talk to you through a letter, but I doubt you would have listened to me if I showed up in person. _

_I wanted to apologize. I know that I upset you during our last conversation, and I deeply regret it. Please forgive me. I did not mean to belittle you or underestimate your abilities. The girl I love is strong and I should have realized that. You just wanted to help because you care so much about me. _

_I'm sorry. _

_If you will forgive me, I want to make it up to you. I have something that I want to show you that I think you'll enjoy. Bring a bathing suit and meet me tonight on the east wing of the fourth floor after curfew (I know that you're no stranger to late night wandering). Find a portrait of a forest of evergreen trees. The password is '_spearmint.'

_Love, _

_Cedric_

"How romantic," Luna cooed. She had read the letter after Rose was done.

"What if it's a trap?" Rose asked, but she already knew that she sounded too paranoid. Luna didn't reply to her question, but started to hum loudly. Now that Rose was thinking a bit clearly, she could tell that she was in the wrong. She was the one that had exploded during their conversation and then challenged and defeated him in a duel. Being completely honest, Rose was relieved that Cedric had apologized first and was trying to mend things. She truly loved him and hated being away from him, but her own stupid stubbornness wouldn't allow her to admit that she was wrong.

"C'mon Luna, let's go get dinner," Rose said as she put her things away. Luna, still humming, did not answer but followed her friend out of the library.

…

Rose sat calmly in the Slytherin Common Room. With a book in hand and Draco laying his head on her lap, she was trying her best to not think about Cedric and their little rendezvous tonight. While her and the youngest Malfoy resided on the plush silver couch, the rest of their friends surrounded them. Daphne was knelt over an ebony coffee table, furiously scribbling out a Transfiguration essay while Theodore Nott sat in the same position, writing the same essay. Blaise Zabini lounged on a grey armchair, his long legs dangling over the armrest. He was using his wand to levitate a seat cushion in the air.

"You'd think McGonagall would get sick of having to read two feet long essays every fucking week," Theo grumbled as his third quill of the night snapped in his hand. "At least Snape lets you get away with handing in a foot and a half."

"Unless you're a Gryffindor," Blaise snorted. "Did you see Weasely during last class? Snape nearly busted a vein yelling at him."

"Don't you have homework to do Blaise?" Draco asked, looking at his Italian friend. Blaise rolled his eyes. He was the heir of the Zabini fortune and his incomplete charms homework would never change that.

"You're not doing any work either," Rose noted. She looked down at her best friend, who always acted as if her lap was the softest pillow in the world. Draco would never admit it to her, but he was extremely happy that Rose and Diggory were in a fight.

"Yeah so don't nag at other people," Blaise added. Draco looked up long enough to stick his tongue out at him.

"Done!" Daphne announced proudly as she raised her hands. "Done with McGonagall's horrid paper!" Satisfied, the girl leaned back, resting against the leg of the grey couch.

"Want a reward now?" Theo glared as he tried to finish his own essay.

"Yes actually!" Daphne said. She jumped up and clapped her hands together. Everyone groaned as they saw the look in Daphne's eyes. They all knew that look. She had a harebrained idea.

"Let's go on vacation!"

"No!"

"Never with you lot."

"We're in the middle of the fucking school year, Daph."

"Crap, I broke another quill."

"C'mon guys," Daphne whined. She glared at her friends. "I don't mean right now. Like during the holidays. Wouldn't it be fun? All five us on a beach somewhere? Having fun and being away from the school."

"Ugh, you're making me miss my vacation home in the Bahamas," Nott groaned.

"I think Draco might explode if he saw Rose in a bikini," Blaise sniggered.

"Oi! I'll skin you alive, Zabini," Draco growled, jumping up to his feet. But Rose was not listening.

"Oh," Rose said softly. Her hand flew to the necklace around her neck. The emerald pendant was warm. Usually it burned whenever her brother was in trouble or in distress, but now it was just warm. Confused, Rose stood up and headed to the common room door.

"Alright, Ro?" Daphne asked as she walked away.

"Yeah, I left a book in the library," Rose answered absentmindedly. The stone wall shifted slightly, allowing her to leave the common room. She looked around the empty hallway.

"Psst!" hissed a voice in the shadows of the corridor.

"Harry?" Rose whispered back. There was a ripple in the area and suddenly her brother was standing there underneath his invisibility cloak. Rose scurried towards him, shivering as she felt the silky texture of the cloak flow over her. She grinned madly at her brother, and placed a kiss on his forehead. He smiled back at her, pleased at the warm sensation that her kisses always left on his scar.

"I have good news," he told her. "About the challenge."

"What? Spill!" she whispered back. Before he spoke, Harry pulled out his wand and placed a quick '_Muffliato_' around the area. Rose couldn't help but grin at her brother's clever thinking. She was teaching him well.

"I know what the first challenge is," Harry said.

"What?"

"Dragons."

…

Three hours later, Rose was feeling completely foolish. It was past midnight, and she stood by the painting of evergreens.

"Maybe it is a trap," Rose grumbled to herself. She felt like an idiot standing in the deserted corridor with only her green and black Slytherin robes covering her exposed body. Underneath her robes, she wore only a bright yellow polka dot bikini and a pair of flip flops.

"Spearmint," she repeated for the fifth time. And once again, the blasted portrait refused to swing open. What was hidden behind this blasted painting anyway? Did Cedric give her the wrong password? Feeling frustrated, she went to jab the stupid picture with her wand. To her surprise, the ebony stick _dipped _into the painting.

"Oh," she mumbled. "Now, I'm the idiot." Taking a deep breath, she hopped through the painting. It felt like she was jumping through a silk curtain. She looked around to survey the room she was currently in.

It had high ceilings and marble walls. The floor was covered in crystal tiles that sparkled. To her right were a set of at least ten sinks, each made out of white granite with able counter space. To her left was a set of pristine showers with glass covering. Once someone stepped in, the glass would magically blur. On the other side of the room were a set of doors, mostly leading to toilet stalls. On the walls were multiple marble selves filled with pearly white towels, various shower slippers, and other bathing supplies. Higher up on the wall, was a stained glass image of a beautiful mermaid sitting on a rock by a green ocean.

The most enchanting part of the room was the large circular pool in the center. It was filled with crystal clear water and underneath you could see the sparkling tiles. Around the pool were multiple sets of faucets made of silver. One of the faucets were currently on and pumping out a rose fragrance into the room.

"Thank merlin, for a second I was afraid that you weren't going to show up," said a familiar voice. Rose turned around to see Cedric standing by one of the shower stalls. He looked absolutely ravishing standing there wearing only a pair of green swim trunks. He smiled brightly and approached her. Rose allowed him to embrace her. She was having a hard time forming words after seeing the older boy's naked chest.

"Please forgive me, Rose," Cedric said. He held her tightly as he buried his face in her deep red hair. She smelled so nice. Like berries and dark coffee.

"Cedric, it's okay," she replied. "I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I've been acting like such a bitch these past few weeks."

"It's alright," Cedric responded. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Rose's. She immediately slung her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss.

"Where are we anyway?" Rose asked. She slipped off her robe and hanged it on a nearby hook. As she turned around, she was oblivious to the way that Cedric stared at her. His eyes trailed up her tanned legs before stopping at her toned bum (quidditch was truly a god sent). Her hair covered the three scars on her back.

"Cedric?" Rose asked again. He still didn't respond. Instead he wrapped his arms around her before pushing back her hair and placing kisses on her shoulder. "Where are we?"

"Prefect's bathroom," he said quickly. He kissed the space connected her shoulder and neck and then sucked hard on the skin.

"Even more motivation to become a prefect," Rose mumbled. She leaned back, resting her head against his shoulder. "Cedric, don't leave me a hickey. I'm all out of concealer."

"You're a witch, love," Cedric whispered in her ear, extremely pleased with the purple mark he left on her collar bone. "Just use magic."

"Of course," said Rose. She turned around, with lust laden eyes. She ran her hands down his bare chest before stopping at his trunks. She teasingly dipped her thumbs past the short's waistband. "Now, why did you bring me to the prefect's bathroom?"

"Thought it would be a good place for a romantic gesture and to teach you how to swim," Cedric said. She looked so hot staring up at him with her mischievous green eyes, perky chest, and that pink tongue that kept darting out from those darn kissable lips.

"And I need to learn how to swim, hm?" she purred as she placed light kisses on Cedric's jawline. He responded by holding her by the hips and pulling her closer.

"Yes, actually," he said. "Then we can go cliff jumping in the spring without worry."

"Well then," Rose said. She pulled away from Cedric, causing the boy to frown in disappointment. She walked towards the large pool and daintily dipped her toe into the water. "Why don't we jump in?"

In one quick motion, Cedric had picked Rose up and swung her in his arms. Rose let out a shriek of surprise before holding onto his shoulders for support.

"Don't you dare," Rose said when she noticed the playful look that Cedric was sporting. Too late. He dumped her into pool. And joined her a second later when he dived in.

"Arse," Rose growled a moment later. Cedric had pulled above the water and started laughing when he saw all the wet red hair covering her face.

"You have so much hair," he laughed. He swam them over to the shallow end. Rose took the opportunity to pull her hair away.

"Aw, I was starting to like it all over your face," Cedric teased.

"Oh, shut up already," Rose said before attacking him with another kiss.

They snogged for a really long time…until Cedric tried to stay true to his promise and started swimming laps in the pool.

"So that's how you swim freestyle?" Rose said absently. She was leaning against the pool wall with her arms on resting above on the tiled floor. Cedric said he wanted to show her swim, but she was actually just having a great time watching his back muscles flex underwater.

"Are you paying attention?" Cedric asked as he started treading water. Suddenly his breath hitched when he looked back at Rose.

She looked absolutely enchanting. Her crimson hair framed her body and suited her smooth bronzed skin. Ruby red lips were still bruised from their make out session, and the thin speckling of brown freckles across her nose were adorable. But the most ravishing part of the image were her eyes. Her half lidden eyes were darken with lust, alluring Cedric.

"Cedric," Rose hummed. Her pink tongue darted out of her mouth, rewetting her lovely lips. She must be some sort of siren because even the sound of his name from her mouth was tempting him like he was a sea wrecked sailor.

"Yes, Rose," Cedric moaned. He felt himself moving towards her. She was so addictive, like a tall glass of wine to an alcoholic.

"Come closer," she purred. He followed her command and swim towards her. With one hand on running up and down her leg and the other cupping her breast, Cedric leaned in to kiss her. He hissed in disappointment when she pulled away.

"Rose," Cedric groaned as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"I have something to tell you," she whispered. "I know what the first challenge is."

"What?" His eyes lit up immediately. "You do?"

Rose leaned in and whispered a few _magical _words into Cedric's ear.

Suddenly, Cedric lifted Rose out of the pool and pressed her against the warm tiles. His lips smashed against hers while his hands ran up and down her body. Rose responded enthusiastically.

"Merlin, I love you Rose," Cedric groaned.

Rose looked up, panting slightly. They were in an extremely compromising position. She was laying on the warm tiled floor with her red hair surrounding her while her legs were hooked around his waist. Her hands were resting on his shoulders. Cedric stared down at her with his brown fringe hanging in front of smoldering grey eyes. The pool water dripped down his chest, accenting his abs and sliding into the 'V' that led into his trunks.

"I love you too," came Rose's reply. "And I'm gonna make some flame repellent salve to protect your pretty face." She caressed his jawline as she spoke.

"You're brilliant, love," Cedric laughed before kissing her again.

…

"Don't they look chummy?" Draco remarked. From his seat at the Slytherin table, he watched Cedric and Rose (who were sitting too close together for his liking) at the end of the Gryffindor table. Rose was practically on his lap as she whispered something into his ear. Cedric chuckled at whatever she was saying and began feeding her strawberries. Across from them, Harry Potter was trying his best to pretend that they didn't exist and tried focus on the newspaper. Next to him was Hermione Granger, who Rose had made up with that morning, ignoring the doting couple from behind her large book. Weasley remained with Finnegan and Thomas, glaring holes at the group.

"Hm? Oh, yeah they're back together," Daphne informed. She was busy examining the new bracelet on her wrist. She had decided against the opal and sapphire and when with amethyst instead. It suited her hair color better.

"They're so close now," Draco added. "Just a few days ago she was calling him a sleazy git and now she's all over him." He stabbed his eggs with his fork. "It's _disgusting."_

"It's _love_, Draco," Daphne said. She flipped her honey colored hair over her shoulder. "It's the thing people go to war for and men kill for."

"Not all men," Draco mumbled. "Some men kill for their own benefit." Daphne physically flinched at his words.

"Draco," she hissed as she shot the other boy a glare. "Shut up. We don't talk about _him. _He's gone."

_He wasn't gone three years ago, _Draco thought. But he didn't speak. If a cheerful Daphne Greengrass was annoying than a sulking one was hellish.

They were the children of Death Eaters. They were forced fed their parents and families' own beliefs, assuring them that their path was the right one. They underwent years of training during their childhood: how to lie, how to spy, how to be the perfect Slytherin, and how to be the perfect follower of the Dark Lord. They would forever carry the teachings of their families who were forever influenced by the Dark Lord.

Even the mere mention of the wicked man sent fear into the very souls of those like Daphne and Draco. Their own fear was a reflection of their parents'.

But now, Draco was a different person than he was four years ago. Four years ago, he didn't know Rose Potter. He didn't know her glittering eyes, her compassion, her fiery spirit, or the way everything she said made complete sense. She had changed him, made him rethink everything that his father had told him. Draco wondered, when the time came, would he side with the Death Eaters following his father or would he stand defiantly beside _her? _

"It would do you good to be cautious," Draco said suddenly. His voice was barely audible as he leaned towards Daphne. She kept her own face impassive, knowing that they were always being watched by their fellow housemates.

"Whatever do you mean my dear?" the honey blonde girl replied. Draco pursed his lips in a fashion that he had picked up from Rose. What should he tell his friend? That his father and her father both participated in the infamous riot during the Quidditch World Cup? Or that he watched his father's Dark Mark darken in color during the summer?

"Just get ready for a bit of _vacationing,_" came his response. He couldn't help but smirk when he watched Daphne's own lips purse in a very Rose Potter-esque way.

"Well, let's just try to get through the winter first," Daphne said. After taking a sip from her tea, she turned to her friend and smiled brightly. "Have you seen my new bracelet, Draco dear?"

"Beautiful, Daphne, goes well with your hair," said Draco as his usual sneer appeared upon his features.

…

Sirius Black decided that he absolutely hated teenagers, excluding his late mate's two kids. As soon as he walked into the Three Broomsticks, he suddenly felt like he was back in his school years with all the stares and whispered gossip that erupted at the sight of him. So yeah, he was an ex-convicted felon. And his godson was the Boy-Who-Lived, but that was no excuse to be bad-mannered. Honestly, didn't any of these brats' parents ever teach them that it was rude to gawk at strangers?

"There they are," Remus Lupin, werewolf and his best friend said. The two men had entered the Hogsmeade pub that dreary Saturday afternoon in search of their god children. It was late November and the weekend before the first challenge of the Triwizard Tournament. Rose and Harry were sitting at the far end of the pub in a seclude booth.

"Moony!" Rose squealed in joy as she wrapped her arms around the approaching man. Remus responded similarly and hugged his goddaughter tightly. He placed his face in her soft red hair and inhaled her scent. He instantly felt all his nerves calm down now that he was near her again. His wolf howled in pleasure within his own mind. He loved he r so much.

"Oi, you two done now?" Sirius asked at the pair. The older man was already seated beside Harry in the restaurant booth while Rose and Remus continued to embrace near them.

"Keep your knickers on, Padfoot," Rose grumbled as she slid into the opposite bench of the booth. Remus quickly followed after her, grabbing her hand under the table once seated.

"How dare you Prongslette! You know I'm a strictly a boxer briefs man," Sirius responded, earning laughs from his family. A waitress arrived shortly after, and the group ordered their meal and drinks. Their conversation began on the Triwizard Tournament as Rose and Harry explained to their godfathers the entire situation. Underneath the table, Sirius casted a few silencing spells and privacy wards.

"And now everyone thinks I'm some sort of liar for putting my name in the goblet. Which I didn't!" Harry said.

"People often believe the easiest answer instead of searching for the truth," Remus told Harry. "But they'll come around soon."

"Well I think that this situation has shown us who to trust and who not to trust," Rose said, shooting a look at her brother. Harry frowned looking down into his butterbeer. She was referring to Ron, but Harry still didn't want to give up on him. He was hopeful. She was cynical.

"Have you been preparing for the first challenge?" Sirius asked. "I know that Remus and I taught you a few spells but there are a still a ton out there."

"Yeah I suppose," Harry grumbled. "I know a lot of spells now, but I'm still not sure what I'm going to use against the dragons."

"Dragons?" Remus questioned as Sirius choked on his butterbeer.

"How do you lot know that the first challenge is?" Sirius asked. "It's supposed to be a secret!"

"It's not a secret if they keep parading the bloody beasts in the forbidden forest," Rose said to the two adults.

"The forbidden forest is forbidden for a reason," Remus said, but felt like a hypocrite. How many times had he and the rest of the Marauders trampled through the forbidden forest during their school years like they owned the fucking place?

"At least I won't be surprised," Harry said with a shrug.

"And I've already made a few batches of flame repellent salve and some burn healing potions," Rose added.

"I'd wear a bit of dragon hide underneath my robes if I was you," Sirius instructed his godson.

"And look up some dragon taming books. They'd probably have some spells that tamers use that work on dragons," Remus added. If it had been any other circumstances, he would have berated Sirius for helping Harry cheat. But the tournament was a life or death situation, and he'd rather protect one of his cubs than adhere to any protocols. Besides, Potters rarely ever followed the rules. He was merely upholding tradition.

"Dragon taming! Of course, that's a great idea," Rose said. She leaned in closer to her godfather and hummed in delight when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She felt warmer the closer she was to him.

Their conversation continued as they enjoyed their lunch. As they spoke, Sirius couldn't help but stare at Rose and Remus. The pair were constantly touching and leaning into each other since the moment they arrived. He understood the grief that Moony was feeling for the absence of 'his girl,' but the whole ordeal still perplexed him. In Sirius's opinion, Remus, werewolf or not, _craving _Rose's scent sounded perverse to him. But he knew better that to say anything just like Remus didn't speak of his mental 'episodes.' Friends helped friends.

"So what's the Yule Ball business about anyway?" Sirius asked.

"It's ridiculous," Harry grumbled. "Not only does every from fourth year and above have to go, but the champions had to get _dates." _

"That doesn't sound too bad, Harry," Remus offered.

"Yeah, if Harry knew how to talk to girls," Rose scoffed. Harry rolled his eyes and threw a fry at his sister.

"I know how to talk to girls!" he protested.

"Daphne and Hermione don't count, Harry," responded Rose. "Didn't Lisa Turpin try asking you on a date last week?"

"No she didn't," Harry said. Then he paused as realization flooded his face. "_Oh, _that's why she kept asking about what I was doing during the Hogsmeade weekend."

"Oh Merlin, James Potter's son! Unable to talk to girls," Sirius laughed loudly as he wiped away a tear. Even Remus couldn't help but grin.

"You know, if you're really afraid of not being able to get a date," Rose said. "Then I can always get you one."

"Daphne and Hermione don't count, Rose," Harry retorted.

"You never know Harry, Rose might just pick out your future wife," Sirius said with a wink.

"Speaking of the future and Yule time," Remus interrupted before Harry could feel anymore embarrassed. "Sirius and I were thinking about attending the Yule Ball as chaperones."

"And staying over during the break," Sirius added. "You know, so that we can spend Christmas together like last year."

"Love it," Rose said quickly, her heart burning at the thought of repeated last year's holidays. "We can all stay in the Chamber of Secrets again and I can get Bubbles to clean it up a bit."

"Do you need Dumbledore's permission?" Harry asked, ignoring the face that Rose made. For some reason that was completely foreign to Harry, Rose did not trust Dumbledore. He blamed the Slytherins for spreading lies about the man and influencing Rose.

"We did for the Ball," Remus said smiling sweetly. "But not for the stay."

"It's the Chamber of Secrets," Rose said. "Dumbledore doesn't need to know what's going on there. It's parseltongue territory."

"And Remus and I have the Marauder's Map memorized," Sirius said. "We know every single tunnel to get us into Hogwarts."

"Very well then, we'll spend Christmas in the Chambers of Secrets," Harry said, then snorted. "Never thought I'd being saying that."

A few days later, Harry no longer had time to be reflective of he had said or would say. He was standing in the Champion's tent, outside of the stadium where the first challenge awaited them. The waiting tent was large and had corners set aside for each champion.

Fleur Delacour sat still in an area marked off with baby blue tape. She fingers were twitching around her grey wand as she recited spells and charms beneath her breath. Krum was parallel to her, pacing in his area and occasionally cracking his knuckles.

Cedric and Harry sat at a table together, trying to ignore their competitors.

"Ready, Harry?" Cedric asked his younger companion. Harry nodded his head silently. Both boys were sporting shiny faces. If anyone looked at them, they'd say that the boys were simply sweating profusely. The truth was that they were lathered up in Rose's flame repellent salve. The ointment was translucent but terribly sticky.

"There you are," came a familiar voice. Rose crawled under a flap into the tent. The girl had her dark red hair up in a long pony tail and was dressed in a large woolen coat. Around her neck hanged Cedric's Hufflepuff scarf and Harry's Gryffindor scarf. The boys rose from their seats at her appearance and moved towards her. They shielded her away from the other champions.

"Got the salve on?" Rose asked.

"Yes," came Cedric's answer.

"Of course," said Harry.

"Good, I love you both and please be careful," Rose said. She kissed Harry on the forehead and then gave Cedric a quick peck on the lips. Then she hugged them.

The group's embrace was quickly cut short by flashing lights.

"Front page material," Rita Skeeter drawled as he camera man took pictures. "Such a complex story of love."

Before Rose could reply with a scathing retort, Barty Crouch Sr. entered the tent.

"What's all of this?" The older man said, glaring at the Skeeter, the camera man, and Rose. "Only champions in the tent! Out all of you!" He jabbed his cane at them.

"Good luck!" Rose called out on last time as she was ushered out of the tent.

"That's strike two, Skeeter," Rose growled and glared at the blonde woman. "Don't test me. _Go. _"

Once again, Skeeter felt that same compulsion that forced her legs to move away from Rose. In actuality, the angry teenager scared the woman shitless and she didn't know why.

"Bloody bitch," Rose grumbled as she made her way to the stands. The stadium was packed with attendants from all three European schools along with other guests from the wizarding world. Rose was pleased to see that Draco had saved her a seat by him.

"Ready to see some burnt wizards?" Draco asked as she sat down.

"Rather not, if I'm being honest," Rose grumbled as she pulled her scarves around her neck. Draco didn't respond, instead he placed his hand on hers in a comforting manner. At least he hoped it felt comforting.

Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum came and went. Rose barely watched and was more content to pick at her nails. Then Cedric entered the stadium, blasting spells and curses at his unruly dragon.

"Motherfucker!" Rose cursed loudly as the dragon blew a gust of flames right into Cedric's face. The flames left a reddish residue on Cedric's face, making it appear as if he was burnt badly. In actuality, the salve had perfectly protected his face and he just needed to wipe the residue off with some soap and water.

"Fuck yeah!" Rose yelled loudly again when Cedric lunged for the golden egg. He managed to grab it right before the dragon blew more flames in his face.

"OH, FUCK YOU, YOU SCALY TWAT!" Rose roared again. This time, nearly half of the stadium heard her and some of the children couldn't help but laugh.

"Rose," Draco said warningly as he nudged Rose with his elbow. The redhead promptly ignored his as she watched Cedric leave the stadium. Her brother was next.

"What's he gonna do?" Draco asked.

"If I bloody knew would I be shaking this badly?" The girl snapped back at him.

"Well, you're more vibrating than shaking, if you asked me," Draco replied as he placed his hand on her shoulder. The girl was shaking like an over charged cellphone (if Draco knew what that was), and was radiating waves of heat from her body. It felt sort of unnatural.

"And here comes our final competitor, second Champion of Hogwarts, Harry Potter!" Lugo Bagman announced.

'_I'll murder that dragon if it hurts him,' _Rose thought as Harry entered the stadium to face the Hungarian Horntail. Harry sidestepped nervously as he raised his wand. The green dragon hissed angrily, letting out puffs of fire while it crouched in front of the golden egg. '_Hissed?' _Rose thought as the gears began to turn in her mind. '_Holy motherfucking snake-like bit-"_

"HARRY!" Rose yelled loudly. People began to rolled their eyes and grumble again. Apparently Rose Potter felt entitled enough to be screaming throughout the entire challenge.

"HARRY!" Rose yelled again as she leaned against the stand railing and raised her arms.

"What are you doing Rose?" Draco exclaimed as he grabbed onto the girl's waist before she fell out of the stands.

"HARRY! DAMNIT HARRY LISTEN TO ME!" Harry barely sidestepped another hurling of flames from the Hungarian Horntail before turning to look at his insane sister.

"WHAT THE FUCK ROSE! I'M TRYING TO FIGHT A DRAGON!" came the elegant screaming of the Savior of the Wizarding World.

Somewhere in the stands, Sirius Black couldn't help himself but howl in laughter. Remus, who was sitting next to him, sighed loudly.

Somewhere else in the stands, Professor Minerva McGonagall placed her face in her hands. The most esteemed tournament in all of Wizarding Europe, held between three premiere schools, and Harry and Rose Potter were cussing and shouting over a dragon.

"_Scut Puternic Incendiu," _Harry casted the complicated charm. A large crimson force field emerged from his wand and surrounded him. It was a dragon taming charm from Romania that would protect the caster from a dragon's flame for as long as the caster held it. As if to test the shield's strength, the Hungarian Horntail let out a huge burst of flames that surrounded Harry.

Everyone gasped, expecting to see a scorched Boy-Who-Lived. Instead, they saw a brave Harry standing firm and _very much not burnt _with the red shield still intact. People clapped in amazement.

Somewhere in the stands, Albus Dumbledore furrowed his brows ever so slightly. _Where had the boy learned such an advanced spell? _

"HARRY! IT'S A SCALY MOTHERFUCKER!" Rose yelled loudly. "YOU GOT _TALK_ TO IT!"

"Talk to it?" Harry said, albeit not loud enough for the entire bleeding stadium to hear. He deftly dodged the dragon, who swung its spiked tail at him, and continued to ponder his sister's words. Then the Hungarian Horntail hissed at him again, making Harry go "_Oh."_

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. He knew that if he wasted too much time focusing then the dragon could easily kill him with one swing of its spiked tail. But he also knew that if he didn't give himself enough time, the spell would never work. '_Focus on your core,' _Harry thought, remembering the instructions Remus had given him during their summer training.

It would be difficult to perform a Romanian dragon spell in parseltongue, but Harry would have to do it.

_"_**_Leagă_** **_Puternic_**," Harry casted, ignoring the shocked grasps from the audience. His hissing was quite loud and evident, but what was more impressive was the spell itself.

Miles of lightning blue chains poured out of the tip of Harry's wand, crackling loudly as it did. The Hungarian Horntail whimpered in fear as it recognized the spell. The chains quickly striked the dragon, wrapping around its entire body. The dragon let out what sounded like a scream before the lightning chains wrapped around its snout. The chains finally stopped moving and the dragon fell to the ground with a sickeningly loud thub. It's entire body was encased in the blue chains.

Somewhere in the stands, Charlie Weasely gapped in utter amazment as Harry Potter performed an advanced dragon binding spell that most dragon tamers didn't know how to cast. And in parseltongue no less!

Calmly, Harry walked to the golden egg and picked it up.

No one even clapped because they were so flabbergasted.

``And um," Lugo Bagman annouced nervously. "Harry Potter has completed the First Task in exactly five minutes and thirty two seconds, the fastest yet, leaving him in first place."

"FUCK YEAH! THAT'S HOW WE DO IT!" Rose roared loudly as she pumped her fist in the air. Harry laughed loudly with his sister.

"I guess that' s how we do it!" Harry exclaimed with laughter as he held up the golden egg in his sister's direction.

...

"I told you that he was going to win," Rose said as she hugged her godfather tightly. Remus Lupin stood in the Entrance Hall as his goddaughter assaulted him with a hug. Harry had been carried off on the shoulders of Fred and George Weasely. The biggest party since the Marauder's Era was currently happening in the Gryffindor Common Room and everyone was invited. The Weasely twins had the house elves send up a feast worth of food and had ordered over four hundred cases of butterbeers (after receiving a generous donation from Rose to what she had dubbed 'Forge and Gred's Official Party Fund).

There was nothing like a huge victory and an even bigger party to get the entire school to accept you again. Public opinion was such a fickle mistress.

"You did, didn't you?" Remus chuckled as he patted her crimson hair. Her endorphins were going wild from excitement and were influencing the older werewolf, who couldn't help but grin madly with her. "Although when I told you to research dragon taming spells, I didn't expect you cubs to find the most potent spells."

"Don't underestimate us, Moony," Rose winked.

"I'm not, it just seems a bit strange that he was able to master such a powerful spell," Remus said. Rose smiled wickedly.

"Like I said, us Potters shouldn't be underestimated," she purred dangerously. Remus shuddered slightly as he felt a wave of power washed over him. His inner wolf hummed in pleasure at not only being around his girl, but also feeling her power. Then, Remus understood.

"Ok," he replied numbly. He placed a kiss on her forehead, and Rose smiled proudly.

"Now c'mon, I made Fred and George order over two thousand bottles of Butterbeer for that party, and I'm gonna drink at least five of them," Rose said as she held her godfather's hand.

"Alright, I saw Sirius go running up there like he was seventeen again," Remus chuckled, allowing himself to be led.

"Fred and George love him," Rose added. "Just wait until they found out that you two are Misters Padfoot and Moony."

"Oh lord, were they the ones who found the map?" Remus asked.

"Yes, and they absolutely love the Marauders," she said. "Speaking of the map, did you guys ever document a water fountain room on the seventh floor?"

"A water fountain room?" Remus asked. "No? Why?"

"I found it one day when I was thirsty, but when I tried to find it again, it was gone," Rose informed him. Remus pondered for a moment.

"Strange," Remus muttered. "Not sure if I'd know. Maybe as Dobby? The castle's house elves know this castle better than anyone else. It's just no one bothers to ask them." Before Rose could respond, they were suddenly ambushed with the _extremely _loud music blaring out of the open common room entrance on the Gryffindor landing. The poor Fat Lady had her portrait charmed wide open as the common room was filled with students from different houses and even different schools.

"Oh lord," Remus murmured as he observed the scene before him. The most of the furniture had been pushed back and charmed to stick to the walls in order to create the most space possible. A long table stood to the far left covered in food and desserts from the kitchens. Next to the table was a huge towers of butterbeer cases charmed to not fall over but still allowed you pluck a bottle out. Above the fireplace mantle was a large banner that was flashing red to yellow with the message: "TO THE HOGWARTS CHAMPIONS!" Remus wasn't sure where the music was coming from but it was loud enough to cause the residents of the portraits to plug their ears and grumble.

"Rose?" Remus turned to look at his goddaughter only to find that the space beside him was empty. He quickly located her by the tower of butterbeer with an open bottle and an arm slung around Harry.

"Moony!" Sirius roared as he clapped his hand against the werewolf's back. "Can you believe this? These kids know how to have fun!"

"I thought you hated teenagers?" Remus asked his friend.

"Not when they're giving me free butterbeer and treating my pups well," Sirius said firmly and then drank from his bottle.

"C'mon, Padfoot let's have the kids have fun without us adults," Remus said and pulled Sirius's arm. The dark haired man whined but complied (not before stealing another case of butterbeer).

"I couldn't do that spell before," Harry said to his sister. They stood in an alcove together. Privacy wards and notice-me-notice charms were up. "We spent an entire week trying to figure out how to cast that spell, but as soon as I performed it in parseltongue, it worked."

"Just an idea, I guess," Rose smiled. "Thought that dragons would be a distant relative to snakes so that it might work better if you did it in their language."

"Well you're a genius," Harry proclaimed. "Thanks Rosie."

"No problem, big brother," she said and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Just keep winning."

…

**And the twins become more powerful! Dun dun dun!**

**Would love to see some more reviews! I'd be more than willingly to answer any questions.**


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